


The Unknown

by SuperCrys



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Superheroes, Teenagers, Themyscira (DCU)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 16:53:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 28,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24470125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperCrys/pseuds/SuperCrys
Summary: After taking down Lillian Luthor and finishing what was a massive school year for most, the SuperFriends head to Themyscira for the summer to train with the Amazons. With so much unknown about the future and so many people wronged, what starts out as a fun adventure quickly turns into a fight for relationships, souls and lives. A 'Littles' sequel (posted on fanfiction).
Relationships: Alex Danvers/Maggie Sawyer, Diana (Wonder Woman)/Cat Grant, Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Samantha "Sam" Arias/Alex Danvers, Samantha "Sam" Arias/Lena Luthor
Comments: 1
Kudos: 27





	1. The Lastness Of It All

**Disclaimer- I own the story, not the characters and definitely not Themyscira :)**

**A/N- Well I promised a sequel in two years and it has been 23 months so here you go! I hope you enjoy this story. I have been enjoying writing it. I have about 10 chapters already written so I (hopefully) will be posting once a week nonstop. As always, I appreciate your opinions and I try take into account what you want to see so let me know. Enjoy!**

** 1: The Lastness Of It All **

Music blasted through the decorated school hall as teenagers danced carelessly with their friends. It was one of the last times they would be able to be just teenagers. Graduation was in a week and after that a lot of them would be saying goodbye to their friends, their partners. Some were lucky enough to have the summer together but most were beginning work or internships immediately. One of the perks about growing up in a small town was that almost everyone left after high school, and the world was big enough that they could go anywhere. Well, a ‘perk’ is what Alex used to call it, when she hated Midvale and all of her peers. A ‘perk’ is the last thing she would call it now. In just one high school year, everything had changed for her. The anger she used to feel every moment of every day seemed to have been replaced by unconditional love. Love for her family, for her friends, and for Maggie. She even began to love herself more each day. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to leave Midvale and everything that came with it. Kara only had one more year of school but the thought of being away from her for so long pained Alex. Kara meant everything to her. Alex couldn’t bring herself to think of being without Maggie. They had avoided that conversation for so long but somehow, they both knew that trouble was coming their way. Time had to run its course. Time seemed to be both, the deliverer and the destroyer of all things good in Alex’s life.

 _Just be where you are,_ Alex told herself. She knew living in the past or in the future had never worked out for her. She needed to focus on the moments she was blessed to live.

The deejay changed the song and the hall filled with the sound of a soft guitar medley, he picked up a microphone, “Grab your partners and get on this dancefloor, forget about the world and just focus on tonight, on each other.” Some students groaned at the song change and walked off of the dance floor while others entered, holding hands. Alex who stood off the side, turned to scan the room for Maggie. She was easy to spot as she was walking directly toward Alex, holding two cups of punch.

“I was bringing you this but I think we should take advantage of this moment and dance…” Maggie turned and placed the cups in James hands as he was leaving the dancefloor, “I snuck a drop of vodka in each, have fun!” James laughed in amusement at Maggie and walked off toward his friends. Alex watched Maggie with a wide grin on her face. Maggie eventually reached her girlfriend.

Alex was wearing a lacy red dress that matched the tie Maggie was wearing with her tailored black suit. She looked beautiful as always. “Alex Danvers, may I have this dance?”

Alex smiled and took Maggie’s hand, “I thought you’d never ask!”

They entered the dance floor and seemed to blend in with the dozens of other couples. The simplicity of it all, which once enraged Alex, now seemed so perfect to her. She placed her hands around Maggie’s waist and held her tight as they swayed. It was the first day that Alex was allowed to walk without using her crutches after having her cast removed so they couldn’t steal the floor with any crazy couples’ dance, but the slowness seemed to make everything more romantic. Maggie and Alex made eye contact and their smiles matched.

“I love you so damn much,” Alex said. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“I love you too,” Maggie caressed Alex’s cheek then leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “More than you know…”

The rest of the dance seemed to pass as though it were a dream, their closeness and each other’s touch were all they thought about.

Eventually as proof of the passing time, their song was replaced by something loud and danceable once again. And floods of students headed for the floor. Through the crowed came Kara and Lena jumping to the beat. “Senior prom is so fun!” Kara yelled. “I can’t wait until next year! But we want to leave, the limo is waiting outside, are you coming?”

Maggie shrugged, “I’m done if you are?”

“Yeah, let’s go!” Alex yelled.

The four made their way outside of the school. The quietness of the night was deafening. Kara and Lena were giggling and couldn’t keep their hands off of each other as they walked. Alex was glad that they were having fun. Maggie and Alex had decided to use their plus one invitation to the dance to get the couple into the dance and it seemed to have been a great idea. Although Alex knew that next year Lena would probably not be so simple with it, she’d probably spend all of her money on making Kara feel special. Alex was almost glad she wouldn’t be there to see it. Almost.

They reached the Limo and Kara swung the door open. Winn and James pulled away from their kiss and stared at the four girls in shock, their cheeks immediately growing warm. There was a silence for a while but Lena finally broke it, “I KNEW YOU DON’T INVITE A JOUNIOR TO A SENIOR DANCE IF YOU ARE JUST FRIENDS! MOVE OVER!” Lena climbed in the car and gave Winn a hug.

Alex leaned over to Maggie and whispered, “Does she realize that that is what we have done tonight?”

Maggie chuckled.

“I gotta go, have fun!” James said as he exited the limo.

“What, where are you going?” Kara asked, offended.

“I have a curfew unfortunately.”

“On prom night?”

“That is exactly the reason I have a curfew; do you know how many teenagers lose their virginity on prom night? I don’t know but my mom sure doesn’t want me to be included in those statistics.”

The group laughed and Alex and Maggie joined them inside the limo. Once inside, they all argued over where they should go and eventually ended up at Maggie’s boathouse. They made a fire beside the lake and huddled around it. Stories were told and a few entertaining games of truth or dare were played as the group constantly erupted in laughter until the conversation got serious.

“We have all been through a lot this year,” Kara realized.

Everyone hummed in agreement.

“And even though we may feel like we’re worse off because of it, look around, we have each other,” Alex pointed out. “Some of us are still hurting, some are still adjusting, some things will never be the same but we have all grown and we are all better people because we have each other. That is what family is. What family does. Whatever happens next, we will always have each other. I love you all.”

The group listened to her words and pondered them for a moment then everyone began to say their ‘I love you’ ‘s to the group.

Kara put a hand around Alex’s waist and squeezed. “I am proud of you,” she whispered.

The night went on and everyone could feel the specialness of it. Every moment together seemed more important. The air was thick with love. It was one of the best nights they had each had in a long time. Their guards came down. No one had to pretend to be anything that they were not. No one had to pretend that they were okay. They were truly seeing each other.

The past hurt, and the future was inevitably going to hurt, but for tonight, everything was as it should be.


	2. Two Months

The air was cool on Lena’s face. She appreciated it. She’d been riding her bike for quite some time now. Through Midvale and its outskirts. It was a long trip and she could have easily taken her car or had someone drive her there but she needed to ride, she needed to feel the little physical strain she could, she needed time to process what had just happened before she arrived.

She and Kara had decided to have a romantic morning picnic in the park. Eliza had prepared an abundance of food for them and they happily ate it together. Everything had been perfect. Lena lay in Kara’s arms as they looked up at the cloudy sky and spoke softly to each other. They discussed their upcoming trip to Themyscira. Not many outsiders had visited the hidden island before, it was a privilege. As exciting as it was for Kara, they both knew that it wouldn’t be easy, learning to use and control their powers was necessary but required a lot of effort. Noticing Lena’s unenthusiastic responses, Kara soon changed the conversation to Diana, Lena’s biological mother who had disappeared a few days after Lena was rescued. Although Cat had assured them that Diana would still be joining them on their trip, Lena was still cold toward the idea of her.

“I am glad that you get to see your mother again, you always used to talk so fondly of her, I am just sorry that it took your dad dying to have all this happen…”

Lena felt as though she had been punched in the chest. Kara’s words had struck something within her. She sat up and looked at Kara. Kara could see the pain in her expression, “Lena… Are you-“

Lena gave Kara a quick kiss on the cheek then stood up. “I’m sorry Kara, I need to go somewhere. I’m fine, I just- uh… Please don’t follow me.”

Kara looked up at Lena in confusion but didn’t say a word. Lena turned and ran to her new bicycle, got on, and never looked back.

She was approaching the graveyard now. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. As she entered the gates she braked, turned her handles to the left, and skid across the grass until her bike came to a complete stop. She got off and pushed it along with her. Everything was quiet. A perfect resting place for the dead. It was so calm, but nothing within her was. This was no ordinary graveyard, it was a Luthor graveyard. She walked past the tombstones of her ancestors and wondered which of them had been evil and which had been good. The Luthor name wasn’t always bad, and just like now, it wasn’t always good. Lena remembered visiting Lionel’s father’s grave with him when she was younger, he then pointed out to her where he would be buried and where she and Lex would be buried too. Lena remembered that day perfectly. She had begun to cry and Lionel, regretting saying anything, took her in his arms. “I don’t want you to die, Daddy! And I don’t want to die!” Lena had said into his chest.

“I am not going to die, Lena, and neither are you. We are strong, we are Luthors!”

Lena had found comfort in his words. She grabbed his face and looked him in the eye, “We are Luthors!”

Lena had always remembered that day and how empowering that name had felt, yet as time passed and Lillian’s verbal abuse grew more intense, Lena wondered if she even deserved a place in that graveyard because she wasn’t a ‘real’ Luthor. Now she knew that she was a Luthor, and she had been this whole time, Lionel’s words to a six-year-old weren’t entirely false, although they weren’t entirely true either.

Lena sat crossed legged in front of her father’s grave and stared at the tombstone as if Lionel were right there. “You said you weren’t going to die…”

Lena sighed. She’d also said that she didn’t want to die, things changed.

It had been two months since everything had changed. Since she had found out that her girlfriend was a Kryptonian and on the very same day, shot her mother and watched her father burn. It had been two months since Lillian kidnapped her and tried to turn her into a monster. When she’d been given fear gas and had to face her worst nightmares as if they were real. When she’d been rescued by her friends and found out her birth mother- whom she had watched drown, was still alive and a superhero who genetically gave Lena powers too. When her whole life had become completely different. Just two months.

A lot had happened in those two months. She had planned Lionel’s million-dollar funeral, so all his fake friends and greedy business partners could act as they cared about him for a few hours. She had made multiple public statements about his death and her mother all the while meeting with lawyers to discuss further action and meeting with the people currently running LuthorCorp to make sure they were taking care of the business and to learn how she was supposed to run it. She had been faced with the decision of whether she should finish high school and go to university or graduate early the next year and immediately take control of the business and study part-time. Her grades had always been a priority but now she had to make sure that she kept all her grades at an A+, even when with everything else going on, she’d rather catch up on sleep- if she had a bed. She had crashed at the Danvers house for as long as she could but eventually, child services had forced her to move into an orphanage, it was worse than she had remembered it to be when she was 4, but Winn lived there too, so she had more fun than she had expected to until they had found another foster family for Winn to stay with. Eliza, Cat, and even Ofelia had applied to become Lena’s legal guardian which led her to go in and out of the Orphanage weekly. She had hated the idea that everyone wanted to get her out of the orphanage so quickly while no one paid any attention to Winn who needed a family more than she did. They all just feared the likely- if someone who had a lot of hate for her family got legal custody of her, things wouldn’t be easy for her. Eventually, Cat was legally made Lena’s guardian. She had now been living with Cat for two weeks. She was relieved the process was finally over but still felt like a burden to Cat. She felt as though Cat had only done it out of obligation to Diana. Nevertheless, Lena liked Cat and they had a lot of fun together.

Lena’s life would never be the same, but things were starting to calm down for her. The school year was about to be over, she only had one more scheduled appointment with LuthorCorp, the news about the Luthors’ was now considered ‘old’ and the press was no longer hounding her for statements, and her mother had been sentenced to life in prison after a series of court appearances.

She had enjoyed crashing senior prom with Kara and spending the night with her friends, it was the first time in a while that Lena had felt like a teenager- remembered that she was a teenager. She seemed to be forgetting the reality of a lot of things lately. When Kara had mentioned Lionel’s death, Lena had realized that she hadn’t thought about him since his funeral. She hadn’t visited his grave since they buried what little remains were left of his burnt body. She felt guilty and had raced there to see it. To see him. To remember and to feel the pain she had felt that first day.

Lena sat there, waiting for something to happen, waiting for emotions to overtake her, but nothing happened. She felt a detached sense of chaos, she knew it was there, but she couldn’t feel those emotions. She had seen him moments before his death and that horrific memory played over in her head, only it was emotionless. Lena could remember that she had felt consuming pain, but she couldn’t feel it at all. She tried to remember everything that had happened. Lillian and the fear gas, Kara’s secret, Diana being alive despite her death being the thing that Lena had hated herself for years over. She could feel none of it. Not even that pain she’d carried with her throughout her childhood. Nothing. She was an empty vessel.

Lena had always been someone who had felt all of her emotions deeply. She had always felt too much even when it came to the little things. Suddenly she realized that over two months, all that had changed. Not only could she no longer feel so deeply, but she could also no longer feel at all. Lena wasn’t even sad at that realization. She wanted to be, but she couldn’t find that emotion within her, it had vanished.

She hadn’t allowed herself to grieve or process her emotions for the fear of being weak. She had a lot to do and had focused on getting it done. She now realized her error.

She didn’t know how to fix it.

Suddenly a tear ran down her cheek. Lena wiped it away and stared at the droplet on her fingers. “I don’t understand…”

How could she be crying when she couldn’t feel the sadness behind it?

She shook her head, trying to focus on the gravestone in front of her.

“I am sorry dad, I love you. I promise to think of you more. I am sorry for what I did, you said you wouldn’t die and I killed you. I will never forgive myself.”

Lena traced a finger over his engraved name. “You deserved a better life.”

She stood up and took one last look at the grave before climbing on her bike. She began to feel uncomfortable with her lack of feeling. It was the complete opposite of what she was used to. She pondered for a moment if she would end up like Lex. He had once told her that her ability to feel was what made them so different. She didn’t want to end up like Lex or Lillian.

As she put her foot on the pedal of the bike, she noticed a figure from the corner of her eye. She immediately got off of her bike and turned toward it. It was Diana. She was dressed in her armor, standing near an older gravestone.

“What the heck are you doing here?” Lena asked, not caring that her tone was a little rough.

“You’re right, he did deserve a better.”

Lena rolled her eyes in frustration and picked up her bike again. “Yeah he did, too bad we both messed it up for him.”

Diana approached Lena slowly. “You didn’t kill him you know, you tried to save him.”

Lena shook her head. She wasn’t ready to have this conversation with Diana. “I came here to be alone and visit my father’s grave, not to be overheard by someone who can’t keep her promises.”

“Lena…” Diana looked hurt by her daughter’s words.

“Where have you been? You promised everything would be okay then you just disappeared into thin air, leaving me to figure all this crap out myself. You said you weren’t going to leave.”

Diana nodded. “You’re right, Lena. I broke my promise. I had to go to Themyscira to make sure it would be okay to bring your friends there and to get it ready to greet its new princess. I am sorry. I am not going to leave again. You have my word.”

“What is stopping you from breaking your word again?”

“You. I don’t want to hurt you any more than I already have, Lena. I will prove it to you.”

Lena sighed softly. “I need to get back to Kara, I will see you later.” She got on her bike and headed for the exit, “And by the way, I am not a princess, I am a Luthor.”


	3. Let's Not Think

The day had come. Graduation day. Maggie couldn’t believe she’d made it there. Walking onto the stage and collecting her certificate, she felt joy. Her parents weren’t there and she had by now realized that they wouldn’t be there for the rest of her achievements either, but she still struggled with that knowledge. She tried to move on but it still hurt, even though she’d found a new family, people who cared. Her Aunt Ofelia had become her best friend, Eliza and Cat treated her as if she were their child and she had Kara, Winn, Lena, and Alex. They were all the support she needed. They reminded her to be proud of who she was, and what she had worked to achieve.

After the ceremony, Eliza had thrown a small party for her and Alex. She had decorated their house, prepared an abundance of food, and invited all their makeshift family members. They had to get an extra table to fit everyone but it was perfect. Maggie could feel the warmth of her girlfriend beside her. She fell in love with her a little more each day. Alex had broken her leg during their fight against Lillian Luthor and Maggie had a severe concussion. They had enjoyed the quiet time they had together as they healed. Maggie had healed faster and so their time together became less quiet but they still couldn’t be as active as they usually would be so they did a lot of talking. Maggie had always been one to try and hide her past, but she couldn’t hide anything from Alex. She felt as though her girlfriend knew her better than anyone ever had or ever would. She felt like she knew Alex better than she’d ever known anyone before. They spoke about everything, except the thing that worried Maggie the most. The one thing they were both too afraid to talk about.

Eliza took her non-alcoholic champagne-filled glass and raised it. “I would like to make a toast!”

The room quietened and all eyes were on her while hers were on Alex and Maggie. She smiled wide. Maggie could feel her love through that smile.

“I want to make a toast to two of my favorite people. Alex and Maggie, oh, how I love the two of you. Alex, my beautiful daughter… You have always been someone who fights for what is right, your teenage years have not been easy but you have grown so much. You learned how to put yourself first without being selfish, you have taught us all, what sacrifice and bravery means. You love the people you do with your whole heart. I am proud of the woman you have become and I know that your father would be too.”

Alex smiled at her mom. Maggie took her girlfriend’s hand in hers and smiled brightly at her. Eliza was speaking from her heart and it was the truth.

She continued, “Maggie. You are a ray of light and your smile is evidence of that. I haven’t known you long, but it has been long enough for me to develop a love for you, just like I do Kara and Alex. You are a daughter to me and your happiness is my priority. You have not had an easy life either, but you have always been true to who you are, and because of that, and your hard work, you have become an amazing woman. You have blessed us with your presence in our lives and we will never forget that.”

Alex squeezed Maggie’s hand a little tighter. From across the table, Ofelia wore a proud smile.

“So, here we have two of the most amazing women in the world and they have found each other. I hope that your lives are a little better because you have each other. Alex, you’re going to Med-School in National City, Maggie, Metropolis Police Academy has stumbled across a diamond in the rough, and soon you’ll be rising to the top of your dreams. I think I speak for all of us here tonight when I say that we are so proud of the both of you, not just for what you have accomplished and plan to, but for the people you are and for the light you generate, individually and together. You deserve to be celebrated.”

The group raised their glasses and said, “Cheers,” while glasses clinked around the table.

Alex whispered in Maggie’s ear, “That sounded more like a wedding speech than a graduation speech but I’ll take it.”

Maggie laughed, “Between Ofelia and Eliza, our wedding is going to be a much bigger deal.”

“Is that even possible?” Alex’s eyes went wide in fear.

Maggie grinned and looked into her girlfriend’s eyes, “I’m proud of you, Alex Danvers.”

“I am proud of you, Maggie Sawyer.”

The praises continued for the duration of dinner but Maggie couldn’t help but feel a rush of sadness come over her. They were going to two completely different cities. It was the conversation they needed to have. She knew that it was likely that the outcome would break her heart.

After dessert, Alex and Maggie were the first to leave. Tommy Mitchel was throwing a graduation party and they were already four hours late. It wasn’t very often that Alex and Maggie attended drunken high school parties but after Vicki and Alex made up, they had become great friends again and they tackled Midvale High’s culture of bullying together, in a non-violent way. Vicki transformed the school newspaper into a place of positivity and love and they had come up with strategies to include everyone. Their effort had a positive impact on the entire school. The whole senior year had grown closer and Maggie and Alex had made a few meaningful connections with other students. This would be the last time they saw most of their peers for a long time, possibly forever.

When they entered the house, they found drunk teenagers scattered throughout. Music flooded the house. They could barely hear each other as they yelled to communicate. They laughed at the group of their peers who were dancing horribly in the living room but seemed to be too drunk to notice. Before they could venture any further into the house Winn approached them holding a what looked like a flower vase filled with beer.

“You finally made it! Come, come, come! Follow me, ladies!” He said, a little too enthusiastically.

Maggie raised an eyebrow, “Why is Winn here, and since when does he drink so much?”

Alex laughed as they followed Winn through the house and into the back yard where the music was softer.

“Winn,” Maggie said. “You left dinner early because you said you felt sick.”

Winn’s eyes widened as if he had just realized he’d lied. Then he shrugged. “Forgive me, my ladies, I am lovesick.”

Maggie and Alex laughed at their very drunk friend. Suddenly, James appeared and put his arm around Winn’s shoulders. “Did someone mention my name?”

Winn smiled and kissed James, then turned back to the couple. “The real party is outside, come over here! We have spooky ghost stories!”

Maggie and Alex followed their friends to a large picnic blanket. They greeted everyone and joined the group, pushing everyone a little closer as they squeezed onto the blanket. As unexpected for a house party as the ghost stories were, it somehow fit. Almost two hours had gone by and the stories had switched to banter and rude jokes as the group drank on and laughed their way through the night.

Maggie leaned in to her girlfriend and held her a little tighter. This was more than she had ever imagined. The air was cool, her friends now shadows, wearing smiles and teasing one another. When she moved to Midvale, she was heartbroken and struggled to deal with her abandonment and immediately received the ‘bad girl’ label from her peers. She hadn’t intended on loving or trusting anyone. Then she’d met Alex and everything slowly fell into place. She had friends now, she had a family. She wished she could freeze time. She knew she couldn’t. Her mind kept wandering back to the future. So many blank pages and unanswered questions lay before her. As perfect as this night was, her fear tugged at her emotions.

Alex turned to face her girlfriend, catching her staring at her.

“What’s up, babe?”

Maggie smiled and brushed a strand of hair out of her girlfriend’s face. “Could we maybe go somewhere? Just me and you?”

Without a word, Alex and Maggie snuck away from their group and through the loudness of the party, until they reached a quiet room upstairs. Alex shut the door and smiled at her girlfriend, “Is this okay?”

Maggie smiled, Alex was standing close to her, she nodded then closed the space between their lips.

Soon the kiss grew more passionate and Alex slipped Maggie’s leather jacket off her body. Maggie pulled back and felt the cold at the loss of her girlfriend’s touch.

“Alex… I’m conflicted.”

Alex stepped back immediately. “It’s okay Maggie, no is no.”

Maggie shook her head. “I didn’t lure you here to have sex, Alex. Trust me, you’re making me want to. I just can’t. I also don’t want to do it in Tommy Mitchell’s parents’ bedroom, but more importantly, I want our first time to be when we feel so incredibly in love with no fears or struggles clouding our minds… And right now, I have a huge fear.”

Alex looked concerned. “What is it, Maggie?”

“I love you, Alex. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I do. But National City and Metropolis are completely different cities…”

Alex sighed.

“We have been avoiding this conversation for months. Now we have graduated. We can’t avoid it anymore!”

Alex nodded. “You’re right Maggie. They are both very far away from one another. I think this conversation can’t just be one conversation. It needs a series and it needs a lot of thought. I don’t ever want to lose you, Maggie. I am not planning on it. It is scary, but whatever happens, I want you to know that I am not going to give up on you easily. I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Alex…” Maggie said quietly, she felt a wave of pressure leave her.

“We have the entire summer to talk about it. We’ve acknowledged it, that’s the first step, right? Tomorrow we leave for Themyscira and we are going to have the most amazing time together. We are going to learn how to fight alongside Amazonians and live on a mythical island for the summer. We are going to fall more in love with each other and talk about our relationship and where we are going.”

Maggie smiled wide at her girlfriend. It was as though Alex was telling herself as well as Maggie. She always had a way of making her feel better.

Alex stepped closer to Maggie and caressed her cheek. “But let’s not think. Okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s not think about it too much. Think about it to the point where it destroys every good moment we have because we have over-thought or can’t stop thinking about it. There’s a time and a place to talk about it, but the rest of the time is for having fun and falling in love. Let’s not ruin everything by caring too much about the unknown.”

Maggie sighed. “That’s not easy.”

“Not at all.”

“Although you do have a point. I am willing to try…”

“We are going to beat this, Maggie. I promise.”

Maggie wasted no more time. She wrapped her arms around Alex’s waist and kissed her again. She hoped Alex was right. She hoped they were strong enough. She felt so much better having initiated the conversation. She realized that she had felt miserable for weeks because she’d spent too much time thinking about it. They had a whole summer ahead of them, a once in a lifetime opportunity. Maggie didn’t want to spend it feeling the way she had been feeling. She wanted it to be the best summer she’d ever had, and with Alex at her side, it was likely to be… if she could learn to control her thoughts.


	4. Radiate Power

Sam knew. Vicky didn’t have to say it. She didn’t have to explain herself. Sam could feel it. The energy between them changed the second Vicky laid her eyes on Ruby. That warm, loving connection was gone. Their relationship was over. She saw the tears in Vicky’s eyes as she tried to form sentences that made sense and failing. Sam hadn’t just lied to her; she had fooled her into believing she was just like everyone else. Just like every other teenager who had two parents, a comfortable house, and a clean history. Just like every other teenager - who didn’t have a two-year-old child.

“You don’t have to explain anything, Vicky,” Sam stopped her explanations. “I lied to you about my whole life. I didn’t know if you would accept me if I told the truth. I am sorry. You don’t have to explain. You can go.”

Vicky looked at Ruby who was on the mat, surrounded by her favorite toys and stroked her cheek softly. “She is beautiful, Sam. You are an amazing mother, I can tell.”

Sam watched in silent sadness as the girl she’d gradually fallen in love with over a year, got up, and left her apartment without another word.

When she fell pregnant over two years ago her adoptive mother had kicked her out. Having only a few hundred dollars in her savings, she moved to Midvale where she rented out the cheapest apartment she could, picked up two jobs, and saved as much as she could to afford giving birth to Ruby in a hospital, then went back to work and began school. She was proud of her daughter but she had decided to keep quiet about her at school. She had been lying and forging her mothers’ signature to make sure no one found out she was a minor living alone. If social services had found out they might separate her from ruby or put her in a situation where she could not protect her daughter. She was stronger alone, strong enough to protect her.

Vicky wasn’t planned. Sam met her at school and they became good friends. After Vicky had ended her friendship with Alex she looked to Sam for support. She helped Vicky in every way she could, convinced her to stop bullying, and instead stand against it. Vicky soon came out to her by confessing her feelings for her. Sam couldn’t deny that she felt the same way. How could she tell Vicky the truth after almost two years of friendship? Her lies were bound to destroy the relationship. It had just felt so good to feel loved. Now, her selfishness had left them both in pain and Ruby with a distracted mother.

Sam could not afford to be distracted. She was so close to reaching her dreams. She had just been accepted into National City University on a partial scholarship. She would only have to pay half her full tuition. It was still a lot but she felt that she could handle it. Working two jobs and studying full time for the next four years was a small price to pay so that she and Ruby could have a bright future. So that Ruby could have a better life than her.

She heard the oven beep in the kitchen and got up to take the cookies out. She had been stress baking while she waited for Vicky to arrive. Now she’d have to take them over as a thank you to Mrs. Kep, her elderly neighbor with a sweet tooth who looked after Ruby while Sam was at school, work, or with her friends. Sam was sure Mrs. Kep knew a lot of her secrets but she never asked questions and never let Sam pay her.

In the kitchen, a small radio was placed on top of a shelf. A news reporter was talking fast announcing the latest news. Two mobsters had been found dead, killed by what seemed to be the same person who had killed three others, a few weeks before. Focusing on the reporter's pitchy voice helped prevent Sam from expressing her emotions. They were high enough that she knew she could not stop crying if she did. She opened the oven and absentmindedly grabbed the tray. Only while it was in mid-air, the space between the oven and the countertop did she realize she had forgotten the oven-mitts. She slammed the tray down on the counter and pulled her hand toward her body, ready to hold and examine her wound, but the pain never came. Her hand was fine. She stared at the oven, then at the tray. She slowly approached the cookies and with one finger touched the side of the tray. It was hot, but it didn’t hurt. Slowly she pulled the tray into her right hand and lifted it. Still, she felt no pain.

“Why aren’t you burning me?” She mumbled.

Suddenly she heard her front door open. She half expected Vicky to be standing there, ready to take her back but instead saw someone she never thought she’d see in her lifetime. It was Wonder Woman. She was wearing her blue, red, white and gold outfit that Sam often saw on the news, her lasso fastened to her side and a half-smile on her face. Sam put the cookies down and ran to stand in front of Ruby, an instinct to safeguard her daughter, yet she did not feel threatened in the slightest.

“I am not here to harm you,” Wonder Woman confirmed.

“Why… Why are you here?” Sam asked.

Wonder Woman shut the front door and walked deeper into the tiny apartment, closer to Sam. “I have a proposition.”

“What could you possibly need me for?”

“I don’t need you. I am here because I can help you.”

Sam rolled her eyes. She pointed at Ruby and then waved her hands around the room. “I don’t need help. I have managed for two years and I can manage for the rest of my life. How do you even know who I am?”

“May I sit?” Wonder Woman asked.

Sam, bewildered, shrugged and slumped onto the couch herself. The hero sat beside her.

“My name is Diana Prince. I have been working with a few of your friends and classmates, some of whom have powers that they do not yet understand or know how to control. This Summer I am taking them home with me, to the Island called Themyscira. Have you heard of it?”

Sam nodded slowly. “I thought it was just a myth.”

Diana smiled. “Well we can’t have the whole world looking for it, now can we? Not that anyone would find it anyway.”

Sam watched as Diana spoke. A real-life superhero was sitting on her crappy couch telling her a secret. None of it made sense to her. The thought that she might be a fake crossed her mind multiple times but the pure, comforting energy she radiated was too strong not to be real.

“It is a beautiful Island. I grew up there until I came to Mans-world to help fight for peace and justice. The training I received there has stayed with me for years and I know that it can do you well, as well as your friends. I am asking you to come with us. We can work together to understand and train your powers. They can be a great help to you and not a danger when you can control them.”

“But I don’t have powers!” Sam insisted.

Diana didn’t look like she believed her. “Sam. You have escaped possible death three times in the past year. The most recent being the bus accident.”

“I didn’t escape death, I just got lucky, okay?”

“A witness says you dived across the bus as it crashed and hit your head three times before your back slammed into the front of the bus which crushed around you.”

Sam shook her head annoyed. “First of all, I gave my statement but requested to stay anonymous, and second, my daughters carry chair was heading for the front of the bus, how could I not do anything? I had to stop it from getting there.”

“And you did. I am not saying that you should have let her get hurt, I am just pointing out that there is something special about you. The bus crushed around you when it should have crushed you. You walked away without a scratch.”

Sam sighed. She got up and went back to the kitchen. She’d forgotten to turn the oven off. “Maybe you’re right,” she said as she flipped the switch and turned back to the cookies, she needed to bag them. “But it doesn’t make sense. I got a papercut yesterday. How can I walk away from an accident like that without a scratch but still manage to get a papercut?”

“I don’t know the answer to that, Sam. That is why I am giving you this opportunity to learn about yourself and your powers in a safe environment.”

Sam stayed quiet as Diana proceeded to explain what would happen on the Island. All the benefits that would come from it. She quietly packed the cookies, waiting for Diana to mention something, anything that related to her life. She couldn’t just go on vacation to some island for the summer. She desperately needed to work the summer. She stopped herself from dreaming about the white sandy beaches and the power the Amazons had. It just wasn’t her reality. She waited for Diana to stop talking and when she did, Sam looked at her with a serious expression, “Wonder Woman. I appreciate your offer, I do, but that is just not me. I am a mother. I can’t just go off to some mythical island and learn how to fight and be a superhero or whatever for the summer. I need to go to university and get a degree and earn enough money so that I can feed my child. What you are describing has little value to me over my daughter’s future.”

Diana now had Ruby climbing up her leg. She picked the child up and placed her on her lap. “When I first heard about you, I didn’t believe it. You are barely 18 years old and for the last two years you have been all on your own, yet you stayed in school, kept your grades up, work two jobs and give this little one all you possibly can. Now you are going to university to solidify your dreams. To make them real. You hoped to get a full scholarship but you only got a partial one, yet you’re still going. You are an amazing woman and you will accomplish all of your dreams. You _will_ succeed. Women like you are hard to find, hard to break, and always get to where they want to go. Even being in this room with you I feel a little stronger because you radiate power. There is a fire within you.”

Sam felt a lump in her throat. Diana’s words were sincere. No one had ever said anything like that to her. She wanted to cry but she held back. No one had seen her cry since she left home. No one except Ruby. “I still can’t say yes.”

“Check your emails,” Diana said as she waved one of Ruby’s toys in front of the smiling child.

Sam went over to her computer and noticed an email notification. She sat down and read it. This time the tears came and she couldn’t hold back as much as she wanted to. The Martha Wayne Foundation had paid her full tuition, not just for the year but for all four. Sam spun around, fighting to hold back the tears that were forming in her eyes and said, “Is this conditional on me coming with you?”

“Not at all. It has been paid, whether you decide to come to Themyscira or not, you deserve this.”

Sam crossed the room and wrapped her arms around Diana and Ruby, “Thank you so much! I would love to come!”

Diana smiled and hugged her back.

“Mom!” Ruby said happily as she put her arm around Sam’s neck.

“Now, I know this is all very fast but we are leaving this afternoon and won’t be back until a week before summer ends…” Diana began.

“So I have a lot to do in the next few hours. Got it.”

“There is also a late breakfast happening at the Danvers home in two hours if you want to go to that. That is where we will keep your stuff for the summer.” Sam’s eyes widened, Diana wasn’t sure if it was because she had learned that the Danvers were likely to be on this trip too or if she was thinking about all the things she had to do in that time. “Don’t stress, you make the calls, I can pack the boxes. I have super speed.”

Sam laughed, “Let’s do it!”

She stared in amazement, Ruby now in her arms as Diana raced through the apartment immediately getting to work. For a moment she wondered if the last 15 minutes had been a dream. Then she remembered Vicky and her broken heart. The pain was too real to be a dream.


	5. Welcome Home

** 5: Welcome Home **

“RISE AND SHINE BITCHES, TODAY IS THE DAY!” Winn yelled as he ran through Kara and Alex’s bedroom, hopping over the sleeping bodies on the floor. He reached the window and pulled back the blinds allowing the sun to shine brightly into the room.

All he received in response were mumbled swearwords and groans. Even Kara who was usually a morning person pulled her covers over her head.

“Aren’t you supposed to be hungover, ‘Mr love-sick’?” Maggie asked as she got off the floor and joined Alex in her bed.

Winn smiled brightly, “Kara and Lena aren’t the only ones with superpowers you know.”

“What, did James kiss all the alcohol away?” asked Alex whose head was still under the covers.

“Well actually, he taught me the trick to cure a hangover… Keep drinking.”

Lena poked her head out of her sleeping bag and raised an eyebrow, “That is not healthy, Winn.”

Kara sat up now and observed him. “I think you and James need to slow down a little.”

“We’ll be fine. We’re in love. Plus, this isn’t our usual thing, it was just graduation night. Speaking of, Maggie and Alex, have you finally done it yet?”

Almost simultaneously, Alex and Maggie sat up and threw their pillows at him while yelling, “SHUT UP!”

Winn looked scared for just a second then smiled. “Well, now that you are all up, Eliza has made a delicious departing breakfast for all of you, she asked me to tell you. I will see you down there. Oh, and we have guests so be on your best behavior.”

Winn exited the room while his teenage best friends all mumbled thanks. He was only half sure they would make it downstairs within the next 30 minutes. It was a fight of sleep against hunger. A challenge those four had yet to overcome.

“Morning, babe,” said Lena. She sat down on the edge of Kara’s bed. Kara moved the covers from her face and stared up at her girlfriend.

“Morning, Lena. So today, huh? Are you ready?”

Lena sighed. She wasn’t sure of anything. Too many things conflicted within her and she chose not to pay attention. It was too much. After seeing Diana at her father’s grave, she didn’t know what to think, she wasn’t sure if she could trust her again. She wasn’t ready to be welcomed onto the island as someone who means something to it. “I don’t know,” she finally responded.

“The first one to brush their teeth gets to kiss their girlfriend!” Alex yelled as she ran out of the room. She had only made it a few steps before returning and pulling Maggie with her by the hand.

Kara laughed. “Do they know we have super speed?”

“You know, Kara. I like it better when I don’t have to use my powers…” Lena hinted.

“I hear you.” Kara gently lifted Lena into her arms and ran to the bathroom, making it before Maggie and Alex and shutting the door.

“KARA!” Alex yelled as she banged her fist on the door.

Maggie laughed. “You know if you hadn’t made it a competition they would still be in Kara’s bed.”

“MOM! KARA AND LENA ARE IN THE BATHROOM WITH THE DOOR SHUT!”

“NO, WE ARE NOT, MAGGIE AND ALEX ARE!” Kara yelled back.

“GIRLS!” Eliza’s warning voice traveled up the stairs.

Lena and Kara high fived outside of the bathroom with massive grins on their faces as Maggie and Alex realized that they were indeed in the bathroom together as a result of the younger couples’ powers.

“Winn’s superpowers have nothing on us,” Lena giggled.

Kara grabbed her and kissed her slowly. It was just what Lena needed. Kara was the one thing Lena was sure of. The one thing she could count on.

Soon Kara pulled Lena down the stairs despite Lena’s pleadings to keep kissing.

“If you want to keep this up, I need energy and so do you!” Kara’s cheeks began to blush at her own words.

Lena stopped. “So, you’re saying food is more important than me?”

“No!”

Lena raised an eyebrow and folded her arms teasingly. Kara laughed and pulled Lena in for another kiss. Lena giggled as Kara denied her love affair with food in between kisses.

“I think we’d all prefer if you _did_ do that in the bathroom.”

Cat’s familiar voice startled the girls and their cheeks burned red as they looked over the kitchen. Cat Grant and J’onn J’onzz glared at them. Eliza looked shocked at the realization of what Kara was capable of. Winn tried to conceal his laugh as he raised his hands in innocence. Diana was there too. She looked uncertain of how she should act. There was someone else in the kitchen too. Lena recognized her from school, she was a freshman. Her eyes widened, but not at the couple standing halfway down the stairs. She was observing everyone’s reactions. Quickly she laughed loudly, breaking the ice of the uncomfortable moment. Lena thanked her with a smile.

“Sorry about, er, that, everyone. Good Morning and welcome!” Kara let go of Lena and made her way down the stairs awkwardly, then added to the busyness of the kitchen. Lena didn’t move. She kept her eyes on Diana who kept her eyes on her. Lena analyzed her as best she could. She was Wonder Woman, the greatest female role model, and superhero the world had seen. She was powerful and everyone who saw her talked about her like that, but Lena didn’t see it. When Diana made eye contact with Lena, Lena always saw something different than everyone else had. She saw a woman with something dark in her eyes. Lena wondered what it was, was it was regret? She had saved thousands, possibly even millions by now, but she had failed to save her daughter from a pain, a name and a home that would never leave her. Or perhaps it was disappointment Lena saw? Maybe she didn’t live up to her expectations. Maybe she expected her to be a perfect Amazonian young woman, whatever that looked like. 

Soon, Alex and Maggie came down the stairs, Maggie bumped Lena, grabbing her attention. “Don’t just stare at the food, eat it, honey!”

Lena refocused on the world and smiled before heading down the steps after her friends.

As she entered the kitchen, she noticed Sam kneeling on the ground in the living room, speaking to a child. “Oh my goodness!” Kara yelled as she was walking over to them, “Who is this bundle of joy?”

Sam stood up and faced the group, “Hey everyone, uh… this is my daughter, Ruby.”

Lena could see the fear hidden beneath Sam’s confident posture and smile. She immediately felt so much more love and respect for her friend. Sam was the most hardworking person she had ever met and now she knew what drove her.

“Food is ready, everyone. Let’s eat!” Eliza announced.

Everyone helped carry the food to the large table and began to eat. Sam placed Ruby in a high chair beside her and held out a small piece of pancake. The child happily snatched it and shoved it into her mouth.

The moment everyone was seated J’onn cleared his throat and began to speak.

“I take it that everyone around here is used to the unexpected seeming as no one has questioned Nia or Sam’s presence, but I am glad you have all treated them as friends who belong nonetheless.”

Nia had half a pancake in her mouth when she dropped the other half and raised a hand as if to say hello.

Kara put an arm around her and smiled. “Uh, that’s because we are friends. Nia and I work together on the school newspaper and Sam is Vicky’s girlfriend, and because Vicky ran the newspaper Sam and I are buddies, but she’s _super_ close with Alex, Lena, and Maggie… but yeah, getting back to your point, nothing surprises us anymore.”

“Well, that’s good, because this Summer is going to be full of the unexpected.”

“So, are you going to explain why they are here or are we supposed to read your mind?” Maggie asked. “Just checking how open we can be?”

“You can be as open as you want with them, they are going with you to Themyscira. They also have powers that they need to grow into and learn to use.”

Everyone turned to face Nia first. She had swallowed the pancake by now and smiled. “Yeah, uh, I am half-human, half Naltorian. Which basically means that I have dream powers.”

“Dream powers! Sweet!” Alex said.

“But I am still not exactly sure what powers you all have, Cat just told me I’m going to Themyscira to learn about my powers. That is as much as I know.”

Simultaneously everyone turned to Sam, waiting for her to speak.

She blushed. “Uh… I am not exactly sure, its nothing cool like that. I just don’t get hurt easily… sometimes. I guess I am still growing into it, but I too have no idea what powers you all have.”

“Human!” Winn said.

“Human,” Maggie announced.

“Highly skilled human!” Alex declared.

The room fell silent. “Human, I guess, if you wanted to know,” Eliza stated.

“I am a Martian. From Mars,” J’onn announced.

“Human,” Cat said with pride.

“I am a Kryptonian,” Kara said as casually as she could.

“What!? Like Superman?” Nia almost yelled.

Kara nodded, “He is my cousin.”

Nia looked shocked.

“Although, Kara is the better Kryptonian. Biologically and in every other way,” Alex added.

“What about you, Lena?”

“I am not quite sure, no one has explained it to me yet,” Lena answered as she made eye contact with Diana.

“I am Wonder Woman,” Diana decided to say instead of explaining hers or Lena’s powers.

Nia could barely speak. She just looked around the room in awe. Sam was still staring at Kara. She would never have guessed that the clumsy Danvers sister who hid behind glasses was an actual alien, a Kryptonian at that. She admired Superman very much, she knew all of his powers and all of the enemies he had gained. That was part of the reason she got along with Lena so well, she knew a lot about her family and instead of viewing Lena as another Luthor like the rest of the school had at first, she saw a girl just like her, adopted into a hateful family and trying to do her best despite a horrible past. She never would have guessed that Lena could have powers too, her family would have used them against her the first chance they got. Perhaps that is why Lillian Luthor had kidnapped her earlier that year. She stared at the couple who couldn’t go more than a few seconds without glancing at the other. It was clear there was a lot she didn’t know.

“We are a pretty cool, pretty diverse family,” Kara began. “And we are so happy to welcome you into it.”

Sam smiled sweetly. Nia nodded, trying to act cool. “Uhm, thanks. I’ll just be here trying to process everything. Go on, J’onn”

“Kara is right, welcome to the family, Nia Nal and Sam Arias.” J’onn focused his attention on the rest of the girls now. “Cat has been lucky enough to learn about Nia and Sam’s powers, being a teacher at Midvale high. They are new to it and Diana wanted to give them the same opportunity to learn about themselves and their powers in a safe environment. We expect you to love and accept them as your own. This is no fancy summer vacation. This is going to be hard and your training painful. You will be trained by the Amazons as Amazons. Sure, the island will be beautiful and you will have fun, but we need you to take your training seriously. The world might depend on it someday.”

“The world will depend on it someday,” added Diana.

“Are we going up against something again?” Alex asked.

Diana sighed. “We don’t want to lie to you. The Justice League has identified certain threats that may come about in the next few months or few years. They are nothing to worry about right now, but if the day comes when we are unable to handle it on our own, we may need to call on heroes that we trust. Heroes who can handle themselves. This is why we want you to take this seriously. I was trained by the Amazons when I was young. I had years and years of training before I left the island, we are only giving you a few months. I have never forgotten or found better training in all my years in this world. It is the best. You are receiving the best and I expect you to become the best. That is what the world needs, even if you choose not to use this training often after this, there will still come times in your life when you will need to help or save someone, and the world will have the best.”

Within another hour which consisted of a lot of bathroom fighting, everyone was showered, packed, and ready to go. The excitement grew within everyone, but Lena was dreading their arrival to the island. She had dreamed of her mother all her life. Wanting to know more about who she was, where she came from, wishing she had more time with her. Holding on to the little memories she could. Now she was here and Lena couldn’t find it in her to accept Diana or her mistakes.

“Are we ready to go?” Diana asked the group. Although it wasn’t much of a question. The group grabbed onto their luggage and followed her through the back door in much confusion.

“Did we take the wrong door? I thought we are going to the airport,” Maggie said.

Diana smiled. I said we’d fly, I didn’t say anything about an airport.”

“Okay, but there are six of us who can’t fly and Lena isn’t practiced enough to carry someone.”

Diana laughed, then climbed up what looked like thin air. “This is my invisible jet, get in.”

Within seconds Diana was surrounded by teenagers yelling over each other to get their questions answered. J’onn packed the luggage into the jet. Eventually, Eliza called everyone away from Diana and the jet and said her goodbyes. J’onn pulled Alex away to have a conversation while Winn gave heartfelt speeches to everyone else. Lena felt sorry for him. He would appreciate the opportunity more than she would, but the island had a ‘girls only’ policy. Lena just gave him a long hug and promised to collect some soil for his collection, it would be strange not seeing him as often and having someone to talk to about all of her world-changing ideas. He had become a huge part of her life, possibly the brother she had always wished Lex to be.

The jet was more comfortable than any of the planes Lena had been on and she’d always traveled in first class. Diana had announced that the Jet traveled at 2000 miles per hour so they would reach their destination soon. Once the jet was safely in the air, Diana switched it to auto-pilot and asked Kara if she could sit with Lena.

Kara happily agreed and moved to sit with Nia who was leaning over the back of her seat, playing with Ruby.

“Are you ready?” Diana asked.

Lena raised an eyebrow. “For what exactly?”

“You mean a lot to these people. You may not know it yet but they love and admire you and cannot wait for your arrival.”

“What exactly is it that they expect from me? I am not going to be able to give that to them.”

“They don’t expect anything from you. Just that you show them love and respect.”

“Why am I such a big deal?” Lena couldn’t hide her frustration.

“My mother is the queen which makes me princess. You are royalty, Lena.”

“Your mother _is_ queen. She is alive?”

“Yes, and she can’t wait to meet her granddaughter!”

Lena let out a long sigh as she processed the new information. “Diana. This is just a lot to take in. I know nothing about you besides what has been reported and rumored in the media. I don’t know anything about Themyscira or the Amazons or why you left. I don’t know anything about you. Now I am going to your birthplace and I have no idea how to act or what to say. I have no knowledge of this stuff! When I first agreed to go, I assumed I would have knowledge by the time it came around but-“

“I left, after saying I would be there.”

Lena watched Diana carefully.

“I should have kept my word. I betrayed you.”

“Oh, you have no idea.”

“This is hard for me too, Lena. I wish it didn’t have to be like this. I wish we didn’t have to spend this time getting to know each other, I wish I was there to know you from the beginning, to watch you grow and protect you. But I wasn’t. This is what it is now, and I want to get to know you, because I have loved you from the day I met you, and I love you still. Can we please start again?”

“Well, we have this whole summer and I can’t keep looking at you like I don’t know you. Just know one thing, my trust is earned, not freely given. I am not 5 years old anymore.”

Diana nodded, then looked ahead and returned to her seat.

“We are approaching the Island!” She announced to the jet’s passengers.

Kara immediately appeared beside her girlfriend. Lena stared at the ocean and the open sky ahead. A wave of uneasiness came over her as the jet began to descend into the nothingness. Then the sky seemed to grow brighter and the island appeared out of nowhere.

There it was. Themyscira. Paradise Island. A myth as most would call it. Undiscoverable by man. In all its beauty, Lena still struggled to feel excited. Kara, on the other hand, could not help but throw herself over Lena, against the side of the invisible jet and take in the beauty.

“It is beautiful, Lee,” whispered Kara.

Lena pulled Kara to sit on her lap so that her girlfriend could take a closer look. Kara’s attention immediately refocused on the brunette. Lena giggled at her heart-eyes and shook her head, then slid over and allowed Kara to sit closer to the transparent side of the jet. Kara frowned. Lena smiled and whispered, “We’re landing, buckle up.”

Kara smiled and did as she was told, even though they bother knew it was unnecessary.

“Welcome to my home, Themyscira. Home of the Amazon,” Diana said as she safely landed the jet on an open piece of land. The Amazons had begun to gather.

The group exited the plane to find hundreds of the Amazon waiting to greet them. Lena was amazed at the incredible strength she saw in each woman, but it did not calm her racing heart. Kara slipped her hand into Lena’s and squeezed, letting Lena know she was with her, then slipped behind her again.

Diana now walked beside Lena as they approached the Amazon in front of them. Diana stopped when they were only a few feet away and Lena followed suit. One of them stepped forward. She was dressed in battle armor similar to Diana’s and had a long purple robe draped over her shoulders. Her long blonde hair seemed to flow majestically in the light wind. Not a sound came from the rest of the women.

“Diana,” She greeted then focused her attention on Lena. Lena felt uncomfortable under her gaze but straightened her shoulders and did not let it show.

She raised her hand and gripped Lena’s chin, examining the girl.

Finally, she smiled. “I am queen Hippolyta, of the Island of Themyscira. Welcome home.”

Before Lena had the chance to respond, Hippolyta turned toward the anxious Amazons, and in a loud voice declared, “Lena Luthor, our newest heir to the throne!”

Lena stared open-mouthed, in shock as Hippolyta got onto one knee and bowed. The clattering of armor was heard as Diana and the rest of the Amazons immediately followed.


	6. Paradise Island

** 6: Paradise Island **

The island was beyond anything Kara had imagined. She still remembered the day she had asked Kal-El about Wonder Woman, the heroine she had seen fight alongside Superman and Batman on the news and was inspired by the representation she saw. She had wanted to be just like Superman for so long, but Wonder Woman gave her the hope she needed to want to become her own Kryptonian superhero.

He had told Kara what he could, he mentioned the Amazons and Themyscira and she’d begged him to tell her more. He only knew what Diana had told him about its beauty and history, which wasn’t much, but it was enough to satisfy his cousin while also instilling a yearning within her to see the island. He had failed to mention that Diana had requested she take his young Kryptonian cousin to the island to learn about her powers and adjust in a safe environment shortly after the Justice League had learned of the pod's arrival. Clark had insisted she’d be better off in a home, without super-combat training. Kara had eventually learned of his declined offer when he confronted her about the trip. Eliza had been the one to convince him of its necessity. After all, she was Kara’s adoptive mother. Kara was glad he hadn’t fought too hard. Her dream was being fulfilled and she was prepared to be there for Lena throughout everything.

Lena’s excitement about visiting Themyscria had vanished around the same time that Diana vanished, a few days after the group had rescued her. Kara had tried to do everything she could to support Lena through the horrors she was forced to go through but Lena was used to being alone, she didn’t often have anyone to confide in and didn’t want Kara to worry too much. Kara did worry and her attempts to talk to Lena were met with a cold response. She knew Lena didn’t mean it but she wished she could play a bigger part in helping her. She eventually found that her only way to comfort her girlfriend in a way she’d accept was through physical touch. Lena barely let anyone so much as hug her, but Kara could. So, she’d hold her a little tighter and kiss her a little longer each opportunity she got. They had even made love to one another, on what Kara called the best night in all existence. That bond brought them so much closer and it made Kara feel that if she couldn’t help Lena just yet, she could still be with her in an intimate and special way, a way that brought them closer.

Lena hadn’t shared much with Kara in a long time but Kara had learned how to read her body language. She was not excited to be there, yet she smiled brightly as every person on the island bowed to her majesty. Kara felt overwhelming respect and love for her girlfriend as she too bowed beside her friends. The smile stayed fixed on Lena’s perfect lips as Hippolyta and a few Amazons led them to a large court. Kara knew that smile. It was the one she’d adopted to make the Luthors happy when attending events, to maintain their ‘happy family’ status. Lena had used it so often that it naturally appeared when she was hiding her true feelings.

Hippolyta took a seat on her throne. Kara couldn’t help but notice two others placed beside it. There were two other royals in the room. Kara watched as a spark of frustration passed over Lena’s face as she noticed the throne. Within a second her smile was back and she redirected her attention to the queen.

“You have brought some fine young woman to this island, Diana.”

Diana stepped forward. “They are prepared to better themselves.”

Hippolyta smiled. “I do hope so. Now, ladies, it takes any Amazon years to build up the strength and skill set they have and need. You, I have been informed, have only three months.” There was a pause, Kara felt as though the queen were analyzing each of them intensely and calculating whether they could endure. “This will be the hardest three months of your life. You will fall and you will break- multiple times, but you will get up and keep fighting because that is what women do. In the final week of your stay, we hold our annual event, The Commemoration of Warriors. This event is to remember the battles fought by the Amazons and celebrate the peace we experience. Each of you will participate in these games, and battle against the Amazons. I expect each of you to gain victory over the Amazons you’ll face.”

Kara breathed in deep and straightened her posture. She had been on earth for several years now, yet she still struggled tremendously to control her powers. She struggled with simple things such as being in crowded places or touching fragile things. She struggled to control her x-ray vision when she took off her glasses and sudden loud noises still overwhelmed her. She wanted to learn how to do the simple things so that she could focus on getting to where she wanted to be, a highly trained, capable Kryptonian. She was prepared to endure hardship to get there.

“But,” Hippolyta continued. “Watching Diana grow taught me a lot about youth, she was a very curious and irresponsible child.”

Kara noticed Lena’s smile soften as she passed the blushing Diana a glace.

“You may have this day to explore the island and enquire about anything you please. Sam Arias, I understand you have special circumstances but I assure you the best care will be provided Ruby while you do participate as much as you can. For the rest of you, enjoy this time as tomorrow you will be woken at dawn and endure physical training until sunset without excuses.

The group stared at the queen wide-eyed, Kara heard Nia gulp. Hippolyta’s gaze was terrifying. “Dismissed,” she finally announced. The girls walked as fast as they could to the exit and immediately entered the world Themyscira contained.

Kara took in the various colors of the island as she walked with her friends. She had never seen so many shades of green in Midvale, nor had she seen so many different colored flowers. The Amazons they passed seemed genuinely happy as they went about their normal daily activities. Some were working in gardens, others feeding animals, many were in fields training. The island looked as functional and populated as any other civilization, except for the fact that there were no men in sight. Only strong, empowered woman. Kara felt stronger just at the sight of them. Each woman looked different, some seemed bubbly and happy while others seemed a little darker. Some waved and began small conversations with them while others either stared or ignored them. Each woman was unique, they might have lived in the same place for years but each had a different life to lead and a different past that made them who they are. Having a strong idea of who they are was the only thing that seemed similar. It was in that knowing that they gained their power, not their strength or their skillset.

Soon the group of girls grew loud in excitement as they approached the water. The ocean was a bright turquoise color and the white beach sand stretched back until it reached the trees which provided some shade. Alex, Maggie, Sam, and Nia crashed on the cool sand under the shade, with smiles on their faces. Kara watched in awe as Ruby took a handful of sand and immediately turned to show Sam with a smile on her face. Kara removed her glasses and shoes and motioned for Lena to do the same. Lena laughed and instead of just removing her shoes she removed her jeans and shirt too, stripping down to her underwear. Kara eyed her in amusement.

“Do you want to swim with me or what, Kara?”

Hesitantly Kara removed her clothes.

“I swear to God, Lena. Do not remove another item of clothing!” pleaded Alex.

Lena laughed and held onto Kara’s hand as they ran to the water. They wasted no time getting in. The ocean was calm and the water a refreshing difference to the warm air they faced on the island. Kara went up to her chest in the water and pulled Lena toward her. She laughed as the water went up to Lena’s chin. Lena glared in response. It wasn’t often Kara could go a day without teasing Lena about her height. Lena turned her head and stared out at the ocean. Kara could tell that she was thinking hard about something. Perhaps everything she had experienced in the last 45 minutes.

“That was quite something, bowing for you, I mean.”

Lena rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t matter where I go, I can’t escape the public eye.”

Kara squeezed her hand a little tighter. “You are nothing short of greatness, Lena. I speak for myself but I felt such respect for you as I got on my knees.”

Lena laughed loudly. Kara immediately realized what he had said and blushed. “No silly!” She said as she splashed some water at Lena. “I meant that you deserve to be celebrated and respected is all.”

Finally, Lena’s gaze traveled back to Kara. She took a step toward her. “Well, I wouldn’t mind getting on my knees to celebrate you either, Miss Zor-El.”

Kara’s face almost exploded in redness as she processed Lena’s words. Lena laughed and dived at Kara for a hug that sent them both crashing into the water. They both came up for air, erupting in a round of giggles. Kara knew that once again Lena had avoided Kara’s truths.

Lena began to swim out into the ocean. “What are you doing?” Kara yelled after her.

“I am exploring the island on the order of the queen, are you with me or not?”

Kara didn’t waste another second. She immediately swam after her girlfriend. Another advantage to her powers was that Kara could see underwater. She couldn’t breathe underwater, but she could hold her breath and see and that was all she needed. She explored the ocean floor as she followed Lena. Lena was more interested in what was above the water than beneath so Kara just followed her lead. There were so many brightly colored fish that swam by. So often Kara discovered new and interesting creatures on earth, she knew that this island had even more creatures for her to discover and she couldn’t wait. She noticed a flat indigo fish swim by. It seemed to look at her with such annoyance that Kara felt compelled to follow it. It reminded her of Streaky, the stay cat she often fed. She swam after it but before she could get any closer Lena had caught her hand. She smiled at Kara under the water and pointed toward the surface. Kara abandoned the fish who looked happier as she swam away with Lena. They came up for breath and Kara noticed they were already in a completely different place. The shore where they had left Maggie, Alex, and Nia was nowhere in sight.

“Look, Kara!” Lena said excitedly.

Kara followed her gaze to a waterfall, that flowed off of a tall cliff directly into the ocean.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Lena asked.

Kara smiled wider after using her x-ray vision to analyze it. “There is a cave!”

“No way!” Lena yelled and immediately began swimming toward it. Kara swam after her and together they swam under the heavy pour of the waterfall and climbed into the cave.

The view on the other side was just as spectacular, Kara thought. There was something magical about running water. Lena smiled and hugged Kara.

“It’s so cool having a super-girlfriend.”

“I know, I have one too!” Kara said.

The cave wasn’t big enough to explore, Kara could see right to the end without using her powers, and there was a small crawl hole on the side that led back out onto land. Yet it seemed the perfect place to be, together.

Lena walked through the water in the cave until she came to a dry spot where she sat down and stretched out on the cave floor. She pulled her hair to one side and began twisting the water out of it. Kara sat beside her and smiled softly as she watched her girlfriend. Lena noticed her gaze and smiled.

“Have I ever told you I love you?” Kara asked.

“Yeah, a few times. I love you too.”

Kara sighed. “Lena, can I tell you what has been on my mind lately?”

Lena raised her eyebrow in concern. “Always.”

Kara was silent for a few seconds as she thought about what to say. She didn’t want to mess up. “These last few months have been especially hard for you. You are so brave and you have handled everything wonderfully. I am so proud of you for it.”

“But?” Lena asked, sensing there was more to be said.

“But you don’t have to be strong with me. I know you know you can trust me. I know that you are not all the way okay, and that is fair considering what has happened to you. I just want to be there for you. I want you to let me in. I get that you need to do it all at your own pace but I feel like you have been avoiding serious conversation with me for months.”

Lena stared at Kara for some time then wrapped her arms around her tightly then leaned back and looked into her teary eyes. “I know I haven’t been fair to you Kara, and yeah, there are a lot of things that I still haven’t overcome. But I need you to know that I am trying, I don’t mean to exclude you. It is just a lot and I am uncertain about a lot of things, but I need you to know that the only thing I am certain of is my love for you. I will try to be more open with you.”

Kara gave Lena a half-smile, tears flooded her eyes but didn’t escape. It felt so good yet terrifying to speak her mind. Lena leaned in and kissed Kara softly.

Kara knew that everything would be alright but she had a feeling it wouldn’t be soon. If she was the only thing Lena was certain of, then she was uncertain about everything else and that was far from alright.

Suddenly they heard footsteps approaching the cave. They both stared at the entrance as the sound grew louder. The sun shining through the hole in the cave disappeared behind a shadow. Then a face appeared, a beautiful girl with blue eyes and jet-black hair wore a smile.

“Hey!”

“uh… hi?” Kara said, disappointed their new spot wasn’t so private.

“I have been looking all over for you Lee! I can’t believe you are actually here and your mom is Wonder Woman!”

Kara frowned. Kara called Lena ‘Lee’ and no one else. She glanced at Lena whose eyebrows were raised in thought, then suddenly her expression changed into a brighter one. “Helena!” She exclaimed.

“Get over here and give me a hug, I have waited years to see you!”

“I thought you were dead, you just disappeared!”

Lena crossed the room in a flash and crawled out of the cave. By the time Kara made it out, Lena was wrapped tightly in Helena’s embrace. A huge smile on her face.

“I haven’t stopped thinking about you since I arrived,” Helena said. “I missed you, I never thought I would see you again!”

“I am here now,” Lena said softly before hugging her once more.


	7. The Escape

**7: The Escape**

The school year was finally over. Nia would return to Midvale after the summer as a Sophomore. Her Freshman year hadn't started as she had hoped. Her family had decided to leave Parthas, the community her parents had lived in since before she was born, her home. It was a community where humans and aliens could live together in harmony. It had provided much support and protection to her family over the years, yet Nia still struggled to feel loved and accepted because of who she was. It was a small community and everyone knew each other. Everyone knew that she was transgender and while most accepted her, there were still the few who had hatred toward her and began to act on their anger.

After Nia had been attacked on her walk home from school, her family had finally come to the heart-breaking conclusion that they would move to Midvale where no one knew who Nia was, where she could identify as a woman, and not be treated as an outcast. Nia hoped Midvale would provide a safe environment where she could eventually come out and be outwardly proud of who she was. When she arrived, however, she found a school infested with bullying and hatred. Nia had started school a year earlier than most of her peers so she was younger and built smaller than a lot of the students around her. This added to her fears when she learned with her own eyes that the bullying was not only verbal but physical. She couldn't put up a fight like Lena or Alex. There were fights almost every day about the slightest indifferences, then Lena Luthor was targeted for having a family she didn't choose, and what scared Nia most was the massive retaliation the students had to Alex coming out. Unnecessary violence and homophobia. She knew Transphobia would create a whole new level of hatred. Her dreams of becoming who she was meant to be were shattered before her eyes. She began to live in greater fear than she had in Parthas. She faded into the background, never daring to draw attention to herself. She made friends but distanced herself from those relationships. She was not living the life she dreamed of. She felt that she had disappointed her family by bringing them to an unsafe town, and disappointed herself by believing that dreams could become reality.

Nia noticed everything. It was a habit she purposefully developed as a safety mechanism, but it benefitted her greatly in other areas. She noticed when Alex and Maggie, the two strong-headed seniors started to spend a lot of time together and bunk classes to adventure far away from the school. She would see them leave on Maggie's motorbike from the windows of her classrooms and would long to go with them. To getaway. She noticed when Lena Luthor, the most infamous student in the school became close with the protective Kara and her friend Winn, and how Alex suddenly became friendly toward the Luthor who seemed to have forgiven her of her bullying. She noticed when the group of misfits began to hang out together on break. She would watch them from across the cafeteria and wish she could join them. The group of misfits who accepted one another. She wondered if they would accept her. She admired them a lot and after the huge 'Lillian Luthor Take Down' and 'Lena Luthor Rescue' story had emerged she looked up to them much more.

She felt something different after that day. Her first day back at school after that, she and a few other students who were responsible for running the school newspaper met with Vicky, the president. Nia usually avoided Vicky as much as she could. After her fallout with Alex, she had been overcome with anger. This day she seemed to radiate with peace and positivity. She had entered the room with Kara Danvers trailing behind her. Vicky had slowly driven Kara away from working on the newspaper with her bullying. That day she had brought Kara back and assigned Nia to work with Kara on an article that covered what happened with the Luthors and how Midvale students had stopped her. Kara had invited her over that afternoon, it was the first time Nia had been to another's house in Midvale but she felt safe with Kara. They had worked well into the evening discussing the article and collecting information from Kara's friends. Finally, they decided to focus the article on bullying. It was a different approach to the story that so many news outlets had already covered. They wanted their article to focus on something that would benefit the school. They tackled the school's biggest problem. It had gone on the front page and for the first time that whole school year, Nia noticed people reading the newspaper instead of throwing it in the trash.

Soon the entire culture of the school was being turned around. There had been a school clean-up day where students volunteered to clean off or paint over the graffiti and fix other items that had been damaged as a result of bullying and carelessness. Almost the entire school had joined when only a maximum of 100 was expected. The school did not only look different after that day but felt different. Mindsets were changing and an atmosphere of love was beginning to manifest itself.

For the first time that year, Nia felt comfortable and confident with who she was. She became closer to her friends and came out to Kara, Lena, Winn, Alex, Vicky, Sam and Maggie at a sleepover she was invited to. For the first time in her life, she had experienced the pure love and acceptance that came with friendship. She understood what it meant to trust. Nia finally stepped out of the shadows and allowed herself to be seen.

When things got better at school, they seemed to get worse at home. Once in a generation, a Naltorian woman inherits dream powers. Maeve, Nia's older sister had always expected she would inherit their mother's powers. Maeve had spent most of her life since learning about this possibility, studying dream interpretation, and preparing herself so that when the time came, she would be ready to take on the responsibility. Nia had supported her and looked forward to the day her sister's powers manifested. When Nia began to experience signs of the power she began to worry. She hid what she could from her family until her family sat her down to speak to her about her behavior at school. Nia had been sent to detention 3 times in two weeks and they wanted to know why. Her family had always been her support and Nia knew they were genuinely worried about her. She had begun to experience anxiety because of the things she was experiencing. She hadn't prepared for this. She knew nothing. Maeve knew and she had prepared, yet Nia was the one blessed with the powers she did not understand. She needed her family's support. She had no one to turn to. She had to tell them, so she did.

Since that day, things hadn't been the same in her home. Her family hadn't been acting as her family and her sister seemed to despise her. Her parents assured her that they were proud of her and happy for her, her mother had started to teach her more about her powers and what they meant, but Maeve refused to look at her. Eventually, Nia had approached her in her bedroom. It was then when Maeve said the words that cut Nia deeper than anything she had previously experienced. "You're not even a real girl."

When her mother had informed her that she had been in contact with Miss Grant and they had discussed the possibility of Nia visiting Themysicra for the summer, Nia jumped at the opportunity. She needed an escape, from her world, from her sister. Maeve had been so excited to inherit the dream powers that the thought never crossed Nia's mind that she might end up with them. She had barely glanced at the books Maeve read. She was not prepared, but she knew that if the promise that Diana and Cat made was true, that she could learn everything she needs to know and how to control her powers over the summer, then Nia could finally find the peace of mind she was looking for. The peace of mind that she would never find if she stayed home.

Nia felt a cool breeze against her warm skin. The island was warmer than Nia had expected it to be and she hoped that the breeze was not a rare occurrence. She stared up at the blue sky and for the first time, that day wondered if she were dreaming. It felt real but she could never be sure. Miss Grant had picked her up from her house that morning, she hugged her parents' goodbye and waved at Maeve who stared blankly at Nia out of her bedroom window. From the moment she got into the car, time moved faster. She had not expected her friends to be the ones she would visit the island with but she was overjoyed that they were, and she found comfort knowing that she was not the only one with a huge secret. She couldn't believe that they knew and some related to the superheroes she had grown up watching on TV. She could not believe she was on the island of Themyscira. She'd never believe her luck if she wasn't experiencing it herself.

"Isn't this great?" asked Nia.

"Which part?" Alex asked.

Nia sat up. Alex, Sam, and Ruby were a few feet away from her, building a sandcastle. She smiled. "Uhm, all of it?"

Sam laughed, "It is. I don't even know how I got here. My day has turned out very differently than I expected it to this morning when I woke up."

"Well get used to it," Maggie said. She was laying in the sand propped up on her elbow, watching the handmade castle being erected. "From the moment I met Alex, every day has been a little unexpected. I think it's just the magic of the Danvers."

Nia dug her feet in the sand nervously. Everyone seemed so happy, yet she felt a little overwhelmed. "Are you guys scared?"

"Are you?" Sam turned the question in a concerned voice.

Nia shrugged. "I mean… yeah. The training sounds awful and the competition Hippolyta mentioned sounds scary. Have you seen the other amazons? How could I take one out? I guess I am just feeling a little inadequate."

"We are all feeling a little inadequate," Alex assured her. "That is why we are here. We are inexperienced teenagers who are here to learn. Those Amazons look crazy tough but we are training to become like them, aren't we? I don't think any of us can comprehend who we will be by the end of this summer."

"Do you know what else helps me feel less afraid?" Sam asked.

"What?"

"The fact that I have all of you with me… and Kara and Lena, wherever they are. The fact that you are people I can count on means the world to me. I know that any hard day that may come, I can always turn to you for support. I mean, look at Ruby. I hid her from all of you yet you embraced her and included her as part of your family without a second thought. This is what friendship is."

"Family," Maggie corrected. "You are all our family."

Nia couldn't stop herself from smiling. This summer would be no doubt hard, but she no longer needed to hide who she was. She had people who loved her for who she was and that meant the world to her. The school year had finally ended, and with all its ups and downs, Nia had found her place. The summer had just begun and with it, she was ready to embrace the light that would come.


	8. A Kind Heart

** A Kind Heart **

When Diana awoke, the sun had not yet begun to rise. It had always been her favorite time of day when she lived on the island as a girl. The quietness comforted her, even more so now that she had lived in the loud world. She slowly removed Cat’s arms from around her body and slipped out of bed. She planted a soft kiss on the blonde’s forehead then got dressed and left her room. She crept past the other rooms and entered Lena’s. She approached her daughter slowly then put a hand on her shoulder. Lena’s eyes opened immediately.

“Diana?” Lena shot up in her bed. “Am I late?”

“Shh, you’ll wake Kara. You’re not late. Come with me I want to show you something.”

Lena looked over at Kara whose entire body, except her face was under covers. “Oh, uh, that’s-“

“It is okay. Just get ready, I will wait outside for you.”

Diana exited the room and leaned against the wall as she watched the blackness of the sky gain a lighter shade. She’d heard Kara sneak into Lena’s room the night before but Cat convinced her to leave them alone. Both Kara and Lena had had a rough day training and it was clear that they needed each other. It was surprising to see that they stayed up longer than an hour past dinner. When Hippolyta had said they would be training from sunrise to sunset she had meant it. Diana couldn’t help but feel bad for the girls, but knowing that more often than not they also went to bed with a smile on their faces brought her assurance. The training they were receiving was extensive and exhausting but progress could be seen by the girls and their trainers each day. Diana was proud of each of them.

Soon Lena emerged from her room dressed in the battle armor given to each girl by the Amazon. It was much easier to move in than normal clothes and helped them fit in better on the island. Diana couldn’t believe how much of herself she saw in Lena. It was almost like looking in a mirror.

“Are you ready?” Diana asked.

“Yeah, where are we going?”

“Someplace special, follow me.”

Before Lena had the chance to respond, Diana took off in a jog. Lena caught up instantly and together they ran through the island, nothing to be heard except the birds beginning to chirp. The air was cool against their skin, untouched by the harsh sun. Jogging at the pace that they were, barely affected them because of their superhuman durability.

“Sorry about Kara,” Lena said, finally breaking their silence as they ran. “We both just-“

“Needed each other near?” Diana asked.

“Yeah… I’ve never met anyone who knows me so well and has so much faith in me. I love her.”

“That’s very clear to see. Love like that is hard to find and sometimes hard to keep but it is worth the fight.”

“Have you found a love like that?”

“I have indeed.”

“Is it with Cat?”

Diana smiled, thinking of Cat, probably still asleep in her bed. Her blonde hair sprawled out on her pillow, probably still under the covers as the rising sun hadn’t yet chased the cold from the island. The thought tempted her to turn right around and go back to her. “Yeah, it is. We just can’t seem to stay away from each other.”

“Why are you running from it?”

“She doesn’t want me to see her grow old. It is simple but valid.”

“Do you care if she grows old?”

Diana shook her head. “Of course not, it would just hurt when she eventually dies.”

Lena stopped and looked at Diana. Her one eyebrow was raised and her stare made Diana feel self-conscious for a moment. “What?”

“If you love her the way you just described to me, then you are going to be in pain anyway when she dies. The question is, do you want to be in pain and regret or do you want to be in pain knowing you loved her fully?”

Diana didn’t speak. She just looked into Lena’s eyes. She seemed so sure about it that Diana couldn’t disagree. She smiled. “That is some good advice…”

Lena smiled. “Well isn’t that what mothers and daughters are supposed to do? Give each other honest advice?”

A sudden rush of emotion hit Diana. That was the first time Lena had referred to her as her mother without hate in her voice. She wanted to hug her or say something, anything, but nothing would be enough. She turned and pointed to the rocky cliff in front of her. “Do you see that? This side of the mountain is 3000 feet and at a 90-degree angle, it is impossible to get up… for a human. We are going to run up.”

“You want me to run up an insanely high 90-degree mountain?”

“If you are fast enough and balance well, you can do it easily. I used to do this a lot before I left the Island.”

Lena clenched her fists and stared at the mountain. She was studying it out in her mind, Diana knew. She smiled at her child and waited patiently. The dark sky was beginning to grow lighter by the second. The dark grey of the mountainside became whiter, giving Lena more cracks and curves to study into her plan. Soon the Island would awake.

Without saying a word, Lena bolted off, using her superspeed to her advantage. A smile spread across Diana’s face as she watched Lena grow higher and higher. She maintained a good speed but as she got closer to the top, she began to lose that momentum. Instead of allowing herself to fall, she pressed her foot into the rock and kicked herself off into the air. She jumped high and landed on her feet at the edge of the cliff. She turned around and looked down at Diana. She raised her fists to the air and yelled, “I did it!”

Diana laughed then took off up the mountain, using a similar method. When she landed Lena had already wandered off. Diana couldn’t blame her. She too was mesmerized by the beauty she saw. She hadn’t been there for a very long time. Due to its almost impossible accessibility, this part of the island was left untouched by everyone, except Diana, and now Lena. Plants and animals lived peacefully. It was beautiful. She could hear the sound of Lena’s footsteps and followed her into a grove of overgrown, bright green trees.

“This is beautiful,” Lena said in a hushed voice when she sensed Diana behind her.

“It’s my sacred place. You’re the first person I have taken up here.”

Lena turned to face Diana. Her green eyes barely visibly in the morning dark. “Why me?” she asked.

“It was a quiet place; where I would come to face my thoughts without distraction. There’s nowhere to run from them here. It helped me find peace. I thought maybe it could help you too…”

Lena bit her lip in thought. Diana was surprised that no flash of anger came over her face. Finally, she smiled. “Thank you.”

“Hey, there is something else I wanted to talk to you about.”

Lena followed Diana out of the grove and back to the cliff where they could now see the sun beginning to rise in the horizon. “What is it?” She asked.

“A week ago, we left Midvale, but on that day, you said you didn’t know what your powers were. I noticed as you trained this week that you seemed very unsure of yourself and if I am not wrong it has something to do with what you said.”

“Perhaps…”

“I know I should have had this conversation with you a while ago and I am to blame for it, but I want to have it now. Our history is very complicated and there is a lot to learn but for now, I want to help you understand the basics. Your powers belong to you and they are there for you to discover. Some gifts will be clear, many of them you are already familiar with, but others serve a purpose in having you discover them alone. I say this because I want you to own who you are. You are someone who has always been told who you are and I don’t want to be another one of those people. Your powers will assist you on your journey to find who you truly are, that is why they must remain a sacred part of who you are.”

Lena stayed quiet but walked over to edge of the cliff and sat down, letting her legs dangle off the edge. Diana slowly moved to sit beside her. The week had passed quickly but the days seemed to drag on. Diana spent most of her time thinking about Lena and how she could make up for the hell she had put her through. She’d decided to keep a distance and treat Lena with the same kindness and sternness that she showed the rest of the girls. Hippolyta had given them a section of the palace to stay in. It had enough rooms for each of them which circled a large common room. Each night the girls would stumble in, exhausted and hungry. They would all sit together and eat their dinner while sharing stories or telling jokes before running off to shower and get in bed. Diana also interacted with them while she observed their training lessons but this time, this hour or so in the evening was what Diana cherished. They had created a space of comfort where everyone felt safe. Lena began to warm up to Diana. She stopped staring at her with the look that made Diana feel like she would drop dead any second, and started to smile at her more often. Today was the first day Diana had decided she would do something alone with Lena. Her heart beat faster as she looked at her daughter. Everything was going well so far but she knew she could ruin it all in a second. Their relationship was fragile.

“I get that, I guess,” Lena began. “But you implied that there is stuff you want to tell me that I don’t already know?”

“That’s correct.”

Lena smiled. “Well, go ahead. I am all ears.”

Diana took in a deep breath before she started. “Do you know how I came into existence? I am sure you have noticed by now that there are no other Amazon children on the island.”

“Infact I have. How were you born? It is said that you are a goddess but who is your father?”

“I wasn’t born. I was granted life.”

Lena raised her famous eyebrow. “I don’t understand.”

“My mother. Queen Hippolyta desired a child. It was a wish she carried with her for hundreds of years. One night she went out near the ocean and formed a baby out of clay. She prayed to the gods to grant the clay child life. Zeus, king of the gods, granted her that. He granted me life.”

Lena’s eyes were widened by the time she had finished talking. “Woah…”

“Yeah…” Diana said awkwardly.

“You are the daughter of the most powerful god and the queen of Themyscira. That makes you extremely powerful.”

“And you extremely powerful too.”

“I don’t feel very powerful.”

“I was young once too. In fact, when I was your age, I hadn’t discovered any of my powers yet. I was training with the Amazon every day as an Amazon and nothing else. My mother had hidden the truth from me to protect me. It wasn’t until I was in my twenty-second year that I discovered them. That is a story for another day, but what I did want to tell you was that although Zeus gave me life, I also received special gifts and abilities from the other gods.”

Lena looked interested. “Which gods and which powers?”

“Do you know much about the gods?”

Lena nodded. “I have always loved studying about them and I guess now I know why.”

“Alright. Demeter?”

“Goddess of agriculture and fertility.”

Diana smiled. “This is where we get our strength. Artemis?”

“Goddess of animals, the hunt and,” Lena pointed at the moon still visible in the lightening sky. “The moon.”

“One of her gifts is enhanced senses which you have already started noticing. Athena?”

“Goddess of wisdom and war.”

“What do you think she granted us?”

“Wisdom and intelligence, that’s easy.”

“Does it make sense?”

Lena laughed, “I thought my brains came from the evil Luthor genes.”

Diana smiled. “She is also the reason you are finding your training much easier than everyone else.”

Lena looked shocked. Diana had noticed throughout the week that Lena was excelling but trying to hide that from her peers. She did a good job but Diana could see through her. She did not understand why she was downplaying her skill but she respected her nonetheless.

“Hestia?” Diana continued.

“Goddess of hearth and home.”

“Hermes?”

“He is the messenger god of speed. Let me guess that is where we get our speed?”

“And flight. Lastly. Aphrodite?”

“Uh, she is cool. The goddess of love.”

“She granted us beauty and a kind heart.”

“A kind heart?” Lena did not look comfortable with this information.

“Yes.”

No reply came from Lena. Diana knew what she was thinking and once again felt guilty. She had loved Lex but knew his home was a toxic place to be. She had never expected it to get as bad as it had but when it did, she knew she was too late. She could do nothing to rescue Lena. She had just watched from a distance as Lillian grew more abusive and Lex devised his plans to take down Superman and rule the world. It was her fault Lena couldn’t see herself as everyone else did.

“Lena, you know, your friends love you. They each lead different lives and will have vastly different futures. They are all going through something, but they all look up to you and turn to you when they need you. They know that you will always come through for them because you love them. You have a huge heart. If you are concerned that you do not have a kind heart, let me assure you that nobody who has felt your love will agree with you. Just a few days ago you were talking about opening a children’s hospital to help sick kids. No one without a kind and beautiful heart would even consider such a thing. You are amazing, Lena. You are loved and your love is felt.”

As soon as Diana had finished her sentence, Lena wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug. Diana could sense that Lena was quietly crying and she couldn’t hold her own tears back. She held her daughter tight for the first time in twelve years.


	9. Emotion

** 9: Emotion **

“Philippus will not be pleased that you are late. Please go, Sam!” Pleaded Althea.

Sam rolled her eyes. Althea was on orders by the queen to care for Ruby each day while Sam trained, and she had begun to care, not just for Ruby but for Sam. Sam was sure she was tired seeing her in trouble when Philippus came to find her. She just wanted to be with her daughter. Since their arrival she had less and less time for Ruby and it did not sit well with Sam. She’d sworn to always be there for her. This was not keeping that promise. She had spent more time with Ruby while working two jobs, having a girlfriend and studying for end year exams.

Sam looked at her perfect child playing happily with her toys, barely aware of the stress her mother was experiencing. She kissed Ruby’s forehead then stood up.

“Take care of her, please.”

“I will,” Althea responded, clearly relieved that Sam was leaving.

She left the palace, walked through the markets, and headed for the beach where they would be training today. The day before, Philippus had worn them out emotionally and physically with her training. She had refused to give the girls breaks longer than a few minutes to consume water. Her training had always been rough on them but yesterday she decided she wanted to see more. She had used multiple training techniques that required them to use all of their strength and intelligence while being extremely mean instead of encouraging from the side-lines. Sam had struggled a lot more with it because while Kara, Lena, and Nia who were being trained by Philippus were aware of their powers and abilities and knew how to use them, Sam felt as human as ever. She felt more of a burden than anything. Philippus pushed at her as much as she could in hopes that Sam would do something but nothing happened. She wasn’t ‘super’ like her peers. She’d been allowed to attend trainings with Alex and Maggie only two days out of the seven they’d been there. She felt that not only was she falling behind on her training and that it was unnecessary, but that it was keeping her away from Ruby.

As she reached the beach, she saw Lena and Diana entering from another side. Diana went to speak with Philippus. Nia was at the edge of the water, staring mysteriously at the horizon.

“Where were you guys?” Kara asked as she and Lena approached her.

“I am sorry. I just got caught up with Ruby.” Sam explained.

“Diana woke me up early this morning and took me somewhere. We had a really good ‘mother and daughter’ time.”

A huge smile spread across Kara’s face then she jumped up and down in excitement and hugged Lena. “That is so good! You look so happy!”

Sam turned her attention toward Diana and Philippus. Philippus did not look happy as she spoke to Diana. Finally, she turned to face the three girls. “Sam, Lena has an excuse for being this late, what is yours?” She said coldly.

Sam felt herself grow angry at the question. “I was with my daughter,” She replied sharply.

“We have a capable Amazon taking care of Ruby, you _need_ to be here training!”

“What is the point?” yelled Sam.

Both Diana and Philippus looked shocked. On any other day, Sam would have felt bad for her actions immediately but now, she didn’t care. All she could feel was anger.

“I work my ass off every day to do this, to train and to do these stupid exercises to try and figure out my powers but it is useless! I am just messed up and none of you know what is wrong with me. I am falling behind on my combat skills because I am training with this group every day instead of with Alex and Maggie. This is useless and I honestly don’t even know why I came here!”

“You know why you came here,” Diana said firmly.

“No! No, I don’t! I was excited and inspired by everything Wonder Woman said to me but I don’t know why I came here! I should be getting ready for college, working, and earning money so that I can provide for my daughter but instead I am living some stupid fantasy and neglecting my daughter! Neglecting her so that I can be on time for stupid training that doesn’t even help me!”

“Sam,” Lena said gently, growing worried about how angry Sam was becoming. “It is okay, calm down.”

“Don’t you dare tell me to calm down!”

Diana stepped forward. “I understand that this is a hard period for you-”

“Understand what? You don’t understand anything! You abandoned your daughter! That is something I would never do!”

“Woah!” Lena said, “Too far.”

Sam turned to her left and looked at Lena. “What? Now you’re on her side? After everything, she put you through? Don’t be naive Lena, she’s just going to hurt you like the rest of your pathetic family!”

Sam was now yelling, controlled by a wave of vile anger. Lena, growing somewhat angry herself, opened her mouth to respond when Kara yelled, “LOOK OUT!”

They turned around to see a giant floating rock headed straight for them. Its appearance was so sudden that no one had time to react until it was too late. Sam instinctively held her arms in front of her face in a hopeless attempt to shield it from the blow. The rock flew through the sky so effortlessly and instead of crushing the women in its path, it shattered. Thousands of rock pieces rained down beautifully on the white sand of the beach. Everyone looked up to find Sam, who was standing in front of Lena, Diana, and Philippus, her arms still in front of her face but without a scratch. Nia ran up to all of them, “I am so sorry!” She yelled. “I tried to stop it but I didn’t know how!”

“It is okay,” Diana said. “Sam, can you explain how that rock just exploded yet you stand here, untouched, not even grazed by those rocks?”

Sam looked at her hands in shock. She looked around the beach which was now covered in rock pieces, she looked at the shocked faces that stared at her. Suddenly she felt scared. “Wha- what just happened? I didn’t mean to… Uh. What did I just do?”

“You stopped a gigantic rock from flattening all of us,” Lena explained.

“How?”

“Using your bare hands,” Philippus said in amazement. “You really do possess some type of power.”

“It appears when she’s in physical danger,” added Diana.

“Or when I am angry,” Sam said softly.

“What?”

“Or when I am angry.” Sam turned to Lena, remorse filled her as she realized what she had said. “I am so sorry! I didn’t mean what I said… I just…”

“Just what?” Diana asked.

“I didn’t feel in control. It was like… It was controlling me.”

“It is okay, Sam!” Lena assured her. Sam knew Lena meant that, she knew Lena would forgive her, but she also knew she would not forget.

Diana looked deep in thought, she beckoned Sam to follow her then turned to leave the beach. Sam walked after her, her head lowered in shame. She heard Philippus’s voice as she quickly got back to her training. “Nia!” She called. “I told you that you could use your dream powers to control other elements. Well done.”

“I almost killed you guys!” Nia exclaimed, confused.

“That is why we are training, isn’t it? We can’t have something like that happen in an environment that is not controlled.”

Sam walked quietly beside Diana. The Amazons they passed looked happy as they went about their day. It was a sight Sam had began to find comfort in.

“How do you feel?” She finally asked.

Sam shrugged. “Fine, I guess.”

“Angry?”

“No… Not anymore.”

“Do you think your powers are controlled by anger?’

“I don’t know… The other times I wasn’t angry, I was scared.”

Diana stayed quiet. “Strong emotions maybe.”

“Maybe… Hey, I am sorry about what I said, I didn’t mean any of it. I know you would never hurt Lena without a reason.”

“Don’t worry about what you said.”

Sam followed Diana into the palace. They returned to Ruby’s room. Diana dismissed Althea. Sam ran to Ruby and scooped her up into her arms. Immediately she felt filled with light again. All the confusion and mixed emotions from the last half hour disappeared and she felt whole. Ruby stared up at her mom and grabbed a strand of her hair, wrapping it around her chubby hand.

“I feel at home with her,” Sam explained. “She is my home.”

“Is that why you hate spending so much time away from her?”

Sam sighed. Ruby was the only person in her life for a very long time. She’d go to school and work then come home and be with her. She meant more to her than anything else. She was always by her side whenever it was possible. Being away from her caused Sam pain.

“I have never gone so long at a time without her… I have always strived to be a good mother and now I feel like I am abandoning her.”

“As a mother who did actually abandon her daughter, I can tell you that you are not abandoning her. Look at her, she is happy. She may be young but she knows without a doubt that you will always come back to her.”

Ruby wiggled out of Sam’s arms. She placed her on her feet and she walked over to her bottle, putting it in her mouth then grabbing her blanket. She walked back over to Sam and said, “Sleep time.”

Sam smiled and sat down, Ruby held out her arms and Sam picked her up, placing her in her lap. She lay her head in her arm and covered her with her blanket with the other. Ruby grabbed onto her bottle with both hands and began to drink her milk.

Diana sat in a nearby chair. “Lena was never that good. She was always tired and grumpy and refused to sleep.”

“She is still like that sometimes,” Sam said, thinking about how hard Lena worked. She’d once snuck out of a sleepover to go home and see Ruby, about a month ago but she found Lena still wide awake at the kitchen table, going over some notes from Luthor Corp. It was the night their friendship became real. They had sat together for an hour discussing business and dreaming about the future where they both became successful businesswomen. From then on, they would call each other almost daily to discuss what they had been learning and studying. Business was a passion they both shared, which brought them closer.

Diana chuckled. “I believe you.”

Ruby was beginning to fall asleep now, Sam could tell. She looked back at Diana. “I need to do this for her, right? Train and figure out my powers so that she never gets hurt.”

Diana nodded. “You do… But I think you are right. There is room for improvement in your schedule.”

Sam smiled softly. “What do you suggest?”

“Balance. We want you happy. More time with Ruby, but not too much. More time training with humans.”

“I would like that.”

“But now that we have an idea about your triggers, Philippus is going to train you harder than ever before. It is not going to be easy.”

Sam took in a deep breath, attempting to mentally prepare herself. What had just happened on the beach deeply upset her, she was not ready to experience that again but she knew that it would be for the best. It had to be for the best.

“I can handle it,” She promised.

She hoped she could keep that promise.

**A/N- Hi everyone. Thank you so much for reading this story. I hope you are enjoying it. Please let me know if there is anything you would love to see happen.**


	10. Lighthouse

** 10: Lighthouse **

“The sun will set soon,” Philippus stated. For most of the day, Kara and Lena had been training using their super speed, while Nia practiced harnessing her dream energy to control and destroy objects, she had even created a few large waves on the ocean. Sam had left with Diana early that morning and hadn’t returned. Lena had tried not to think about her friend, but she was worried. It was unlike Sam to lose her temper. Still, she concentrated enough that Philippus did not notice she was distracted. Their training today had been just as exhausting as the previous day but it was more exciting. She and Kara had raced each other through the island the entire day. Philippus wanted them to be faster each time. Finally, she seemed happy enough and gave them all a short break. Now they all stood before her as the sun descended on the horizon. Lena hoped that she would end their training early. She had a lot to tell Kara about her morning with Diana. She was trying to get better at sharing with her. There was still a lot that she feared telling Kara. Kara worried about her a lot and if she expressed the dark emptiness she felt, she knew Kara wouldn’t take it well, so she shared the little things. The things that would make Kara happy.

Philippus began to speak, granting Lena no such desires. “You have all spent the day preparing for your next team exercise.”

Lena wanted to groan. She knew Philippus would not end the training for the day until they passed whatever test she had prepared for them.

Over the next hour, Kara and Lena ran fast enough that they could run on the ocean, holding on to Nia who used her dream powers to disturb the surface of the water ahead of them. They failed multiple times, by being too slow and sinking, or tripping over the water sending them crashing in. Philippus did not seem happy with them but they were happy together. Each time they crashed into the water they would erupt into a fit of giggles. It was an awkward yet fun exercise and they took every opportunity to playfully mock one another. When they finally completed a lap around the island which Philippus approved of, she dismissed them and they walked back to the palace together. Their common room was filled with happy noise. Everyone was seated comfortably in a large circle. Everyone cheered when they noticed the three girls walk in.

“How was training today?” Alex asked. She had an amused look on her face as she eyed them. They hadn’t fully dried off.

“Turns out Nia can fall asleep in the middle of the ocean too!” Kara teased.

Nia laughed. “You’re just jealous you don’t have that kind of power!”

“I am glad to see that everyone had a good day,” Diana began. “The next few weeks are going to be a little different.”

The noise seemed to die down instantaneously. “What do you mean by that?” Maggie asked.

Diana sat up straight in her chair. Lena felt her heart sink. Whatever she said next wouldn’t be good. “Well for starters… I got notified this afternoon that the Justice League requires my help and I need to go.”

Diana looked right at Lena as she spoke. Lena knew she was looking for her acceptance, reluctantly she smiled and Diana continued. “I will not be around for your training, I will not be able to help you if there is a problem unless it is of grave importance, then I will come back. Cat will stay here and the island is full of Amazon who are willing to help you. I cannot promise that things will get easier for you. Your training will become harder and harder but I know you can do it.”

“When do you plan on coming back?” Kara asked.

“I intend to stay as long as I am needed. If this threat is as big as they say it is then it might be a while. I promise to come back as soon as I can. When I left the island, I promised to protect the world of men at any cost, my duty there comes before Themyscira.”

“Can you tell us anything about the threat?” Alex asked.

“Yeah, like is it big enough that you might need us to help?” Maggie added.

“I don’t know much yet, don’t worry about helping us. Focus on your training. This week was a test week. Philippus and Menalippe were able to get to know each of you and learn about your strengths and weaknesses. This has helped them decide on training that will be unique to each of you. You will each have personal lessons and tests. To allow for this, those not in training at that particular time will be training their other superpower; Intelligence. Our library is stocked full of books with information that cannot be easily found outside of the island. We have knowledge of every species and civilization including Kryptonians and Naltorians, we have knowledge of the past and understanding of science. Anything you could imagine will be found in writing in our library.”

“Anything to get out of training for five minutes,” Nia said happily. Everyone laughed.

“Lastly, Hippolyta agreed that you may all have a half-day off from training a week.”

The room erupted in screams of excitement. It meant a lot to everyone and their relationships with one another that they get that time. Lena missed Kara. They were with each other in training each day but still, there was never time to have a conversation. Kara was the only place Lena could go to feel warmth. 

Soon the conversations changed and everyone lost interest in what Diana had said, everyone but Lena. She hadn’t been expecting Diana to share as much knowledge with her as she had that morning. Lena had still felt angry but the sincerity in Diana’s voice had softened her. Finally, things began to make sense to her. She hadn’t expected their relationship to improve so quickly but she had enjoyed her time with her. It was a big step in their relationship. Now she was about to say goodbye to her again. She felt like a fool. Things would never be constant for her.

When everyone had eaten and prepared for bed, Diana appeared at Lena’s door and asked if she could speak with her. Lena nodded and she entered slowly. Diana looked more upset than she had when she had made her announcement. “I am so sorry, Lena!” She said.

Lena shrugged. “You don’t need to apologize to me, your job is important.” Diana gave her a disbelieving look. “Saving the world important!” She tried. “Thank you for letting me know this time...”

“You’re not upset?”

Lena laughed. “No. I mean… I am a little disappointed, we just took the baby steps today but it's not like either of us can control it. I am sure you’ll be back soon anyway, we have just less than three months. That is a lot of time.”

Diana smiled. “I do hope so. Keep working on yourself and learning what you can. Soon you will become an unstoppable force.”

Diana leaned in to hug Lena who quickly wrapped her arms around her, thankful that Diana wouldn’t see her tears beginning to form.

Once Diana had left her alone, Lena sat on her bed and let her tears fall. She was feeling something but whatever it was, it was fuelling her anger. She wanted it to stop but she didn’t know how to. She wondered if there was something wrong with her but that thought seemed to make her angrier. Just when she was starting to think too much, Kara walked in and within a second of seeing her tears she flew across the room and wrapped her arms around Lena, the force sending them crashing into the bed. Lena giggled. Kara lifted her head and Lena felt her eyes staring into her soul. She wanted to look away but she knew that would make Kara worry more. She used her thumbs to wipe the tears from Lena’s eyes. Lena felt her anger slowly leaving but it wasn’t enough. She flipped Kara over and began to kiss her. She needed to stop her before she asked any questions. Kara gave in and kissed her back but right when it was starting to get heated Kara pushed her away. She sat up and looked at Lena with concern on her face.

“You can’t fool me, Lena.”

Lena frowned. “I just need you.” She leaned in again but Kara pulled away.

“No, you’re using me to ignore your feelings.”

Kara’s words pierced Lena’s heart. Kara winced as she realized what she had said. They stared at each other in silence as Lena processed Kara’s words and started to understand their truth.

“Lena, I didn’t mean that!” Kara eventually said, fear in her voice.

After a few more seconds of silence, Lena spoke softly. “No. Kara. You are right.”

“But I-“

“No, Kara. You. Are. Right. I know you don’t mean it in a bad way. It is true.” Lena felt another round of tears escape her eyes. Kara looked so unhappy. She knew she had to tell her the truth. She breathed in deep and let it out, preparing herself for what would follow. “Kara, do you remember the other day when I told you that the only thing I was certain of was my love for you?”

Kara nodded slowly.

“That has so much more meaning than you know.”

“How’s so?”

“I have been struggling. _Really_ struggling with my emotions… I know you said I don’t have to tell you everything and I am not ready to, but I will tell you that it is unlike anything I have experienced before. I don’t understand it, but I am working on it. I just need you to know that the only good thing I can feel, and I mean the _only_ good thing… is our love. Your love for me and my love for you. Nothing else lets me feel light but that. Everything else is like darkness, even when I know it should be light. It is all just a huge cloud of darkness that I can’t escape until you are with me, or I remember something about you. Nothing else lets me out of this hell but your light, Kara. You’re my lighthouse.”

Kara leaned into Lena and caressed her cheek. The look on her face was so pure that more tears left Lena’s eyes. She believed in Lena so much that she could never look at her with judgment. “You are going to get through this, Lena. Do you understand?”

Lena nodded.

“You are so brave. I will always be here. I promise. I love you, Lena.”

“I love you.”

Kara kissed Lena again softly, then held her tight as Lena cried more tears. Lena wanted to stop but she hadn’t cried in so long and Kara’s embrace was so warm and safe that it gave silent permission for her to cry longer. To heal.

Finally, her tears stopped and she felt slightly better. She lay with her head on Kara’s chest and told her about her adventures with Diana that morning. She explained some of what Diana had told her and then told her about the beauty and peacefulness of the cliff without disclosing its location to Kara’s dismay, but she did tell her the locations of the other places Diana had shown her, potential date ideas. More waterfalls and meadows and the library, no one knew how beautiful the library was. It was the largest building on the island, its resources had amazed Lena so much that Diana almost had to force her out of there to get her to go to her training. She told Kara that although she didn’t feel like Diana was her mom yet, she felt that they were building a good friendship and neither were pushing to speed the process up which she was thankful for. Then Lena began telling Kara about how beautiful the stars were on the island and how it made her dream about all the possibilities, which brought her to a new design LuthorCorp was working on which would change the world as they knew it. That is when Lena looked up to notice that she was putting Kara to sleep. Lena kissed her softy and she opened her eyes.

“Don’t sleep yet, sleepyhead.”

“I wasn’t sleeping, you were talking about the protons and electrons and all of the ‘ons’ and how it is going to change the world.”

Lena laughed. “Not exactly but I appreciate the effort.”

Lena kissed her again and this time Kara flipped her over. They kissed and Lena knew that what she had told Kara was the truth. Nothing could guide her home better than Kara’s love. When she felt Kara’s hand travel up her pyjama shirt she fought against the pleasure and said, “Wait, Diana and Cat!”

Kara giggled and blushed. “Don’t ask me how I know but they are too interested in each other right now to pay any attention to us.”

“Eww, disgusting!”

“I hope you don’t have to suffer from enhanced senses as much as I do.”

Lena laughed. “Better you than me. Please, continue.”

Kara wasted no more time.


	11. Broken Promises

** 11: Broken Promises **

Saying goodbye to Lena and the rest of the girls had been harder than Diana had expected. Seeing the tears beginning to swell in Lena’s eyes had once again highlighted Diana’s failure to keep Lena’s promise. She wanted nothing more than to be there for her daughter, but she’d sworn to protect the earth at whatever cost. As she walked toward her room her frustration began to grow. She had spent all her time on the earth fighting to protect it, fighting for justice so that one day there would be peace. She wanted that peace. She had sacrificed so much for it. She had sacrificed Lena for it and she had to continue her the child. She felt stupid to reassure herself that it was for the greater good. Lena meant more to her than anyone else.

Her love affair with Lionel Luthor was unintentional, she had been undercover, seeking information on the family when she met Lionel. She believed Lionel was involved with a case she was working. By the time she had found the LuthorCorp employee who was responsible, Diana knew she was in love with Lionel. He was not a perfect man, although he had not committed any serious crimes, Diana knew he would do whatever to took to get what he wanted. She tried not to think of his sins and focused more on the reasons she loved him. She grew close with Lex whenever Lionel would bring him on his trips. She hated the fact that she was ruining a perfect home but she loved the boy and this brought her closer to Lionel. She couldn’t leave him. She loved him.

When she fell pregnant with Lena she had been terrified, she had never expected to have a child of her own. Queen Hippolyta had desired a child from the depths of her heart. This desire was so strong that the gods had granted her clay child life. Diana was amazed at this story, not just because it was the story of her creation, but because of her mother’s faith that granted her what she had wanted.

As much as Diana loved children, a child was never in her plans, yet she found herself expecting, and she could not deny the child life, she could not wait to hold it in her arms. Lionel had been upset when she had told him, but she knew he was scared too. They created a plan: Lillian would never know, Diana would keep the child and raise it alone.

When Lena was born and Diana held her close in her arms and experienced a feeling she’d never felt before. It was a feeling no amount of life-saving had every brought her, it a feeling none of her lovers, not even Cat, had ever made her feel. This, she thought, is what happiness tries to imitate.

As she looked into the beautiful green eyes of her infant, she promised she would love the child the same way she did at that moment, if not more. She promised to give the child a life better than even she could imagine at that moment. She promised to protect that child from any kind of harm that would come her way.

Lena stared at her mother, her eyes so full of wonder. Diana could never forget that moment.

Once she reached her room she found Cat waiting for her, already dressed for bed, and her frustration instantly turned to sadness. With one look Cat knew exactly what was wrong and crossed the room to embrace the hero as she collapsed in her arms. Diana didn’t always voice her concerns but somehow she could count on Cat to understand her anyway.

“I love you,” Cat whispered after a few minutes.

Diana knew that Cat did not say this to distract her from her sorrow, but to assure her that she believed in her and would not doubt her, but Diana had not heard those words in a very long time and could not help smiling through the tears. She looked into her eyes, more tears poured out of her own eyes, but this time they were tears of joy.

“I love you!” Diana exclaimed. Cat already knew this as Diana reminded her often.

This would be their last night together for a while and so they made the most out of it, Diana made sure to take the opportunity to once again, memorize every part of Cat’s body, this time knowing and not doubting the woman’s affection for her. But later, once Cat had fallen asleep and pressed her body against hers to find comfort, Diana lay awake.

Those green eyes of Lena’s hadn’t changed at all. They still reminded Diana of the intensity of the love she had for her daughter, yet, they brought her a lot of pain.

When Lena was just three years old, Diana had joined the justice league. She had been fighting crime alone for so long that when she discovered the group it was reassuring to hear that others had similar objectives. Diana loved her work, she had meaningful friendships which she hadn’t had for the longest time, and she spent every spare moment with Lena, watching her grow.

Diana always knew that her job was dangerous, but she became increasingly aware of this after she had Lena. She kept her two lives so separate that not even the Justice League knew where she lived. While in Ireland she worked as a commissioned artist and people knew her as a single mother to Lena. Her affair with Lionel had ended and he returned to Lillian to work on their relationship. He very seldomly requested to see Lena. Diana gave the child the best life she was capable of, and she was happy with her daughter until the inevitable happened.

A villain who had an obsession with the Justice League, who had failed numerous times to capture him, had discovered Diana’s identity. While the entire team had been fooled into following a dead-end trap, he had kidnapped Lena from her Day-care. When Diana had been informed she had lost control. Against the Justice Leagues pleadings Diana had walked directly into the villain's trap, but using all her skills she had acquired over the years and all of her energy she had escaped and attacked the villain, torturing him mercilessly until he provided Diana with Lena’s location. He had seen the side of her he had been provoking for years, and it did not work out well for him.

Lena had been taken for approximately 4 hours, but Diana swore it would never happen again. She accepted the truth that Lena was not safe in her care. After much discussion with the Justice League who now knew about Lena and Lionel, Diana decided to fake her death.

Lena was a child, Diana knew that if she disappeared Lena would not accept her death. So she took the child to the lake they often visited and after their final picnic, Diana took Lena for a walk on the pier and fell in. Diana had seen the fear in Lena’s eyes as she faked drowning. She then swam to the far side of the lake and watched her child cry as both their hearts broke in two. Eventually, Lena got up and ran to find help.

Diana would never forget the pain she felt that day, where she hurt her daughter and watched as she cried but knew that she would never again be able to comfort her. That was what haunted her.

Lionel had arranged for a search and rescue crew to find the body that did not exist and held a private burial for her empty casket as the media went wild about the illegitimate child Lionel now had in his home. A home Diana would never have allowed Lena to ever see had she known Lex and Lillian’s future.

She had failed Lena over and over again. She wondered if she would ever be able to stop hurting her.

As these thoughts and memories rolled through Diana’s mind, the night raced on. Eventually, Diana decided it was time for her to leave the island. She walked through the quiet streets of the island and made her way to the field where she landed her jet. When she approached it she saw a familiar figure floating in mid-air, asleep. It was Helena asleep on the jet’s wing.

She approached the teen and tried to lift her off of the plane and place her on the floor without waking her but much to Diana’s dismay, she awoke with a start. She ran her hands through her messy dark hair and then raised a fist to the air in celebration.

“Ha! Diana, I knew it would work. I can’t believe I hadn’t slept on top of the jet before!”

Diana released her and she immediately approached the door of the jet. Diana shook her head. She had been granted permission from Hippolyta to take Helena on short trips with her back to her home as Helena was not from the island and hadn’t chosen to be brought to the island. She had loved it and Diana was glad but Helena was determined to return as often as she could and would often get aggressive when Diana refused to break the queen's rules and take her with her. She had often found her asleep near the jet waiting for her. Most times Diana would take off without waking her up, but it appeared that Helena was becoming smarter in her tactics.

“The queen has not granted you permission, Helena,” Diana said.

“Come on! I heard that you left the island without telling her and you were only a few years older than I am now.”

“There were consequences that came with that decision. I had to abandon Themyscria as my home. And I had a true purpose in leaving. You just want the adventure.”

“I want my home!”

“Either way, you are not coming with me. I can’t watch over you.”

“I don’t need a baby sitter!”

“I am not having this argument with you again. Get permission from the queen and I would be happy to include you on my next trip.”

“Do you promise?”

Diana nodded. “I promise.”

Helena dropped her authoritative posture she was trying to hold and sighed. “I hope it is soon.”

“You are where you’re meant to be. You’re reunited with your best friend from your childhood. I am sure you two can cheer each other up.”

“Lena has Kara.”

Diana raised an eyebrow. “And Alex and Sam and everyone else, you could never have enough friends.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Helena said as she began to walk away. “Have fun fighting the earth’s new villain.”

Diana climbed up into the jet and prepared for take-off. She often worried about Helena. She had become Lena’s best friend after she’d moved into the Luthors home, and Lionel had allowed it despite knowing that Helena’s family was a prominent Mafia family. Diana had just had a secret meeting with Lionel when she heard the shootings in the distance. By the time Diana had reached the child, her entire family had been murdered. Not knowing what else to do, she’d brought Helena to Themyscria.

Helena was eight years old when this had happened, the same age as Lena, and she remembered everything from that night. Diana felt so much responsibility for the child and it hurt her to know that she was unhappy on the island, but she was not ready to allow her to leave it just yet. She still had a lot of learning to do.

She watched Helena disappear behind the trees and started the jet’s engine. She hoped she would be able to return before the battle. It would also be Helena’s first battle. She wanted to see how much power the girls were capable of harnessing. 


	12. Dreams

Time seemed to be racing by. The days were long and hard, yet Nia couldn’t wait to get out of bed in the mornings. She loved the training. She loved learning about her powers. She loved the feeling of becoming she experienced every day. She was happy. In the painfully confining walls of social acceptance, she had never been allowed room to grow as a woman as much as she had on the island. She could feel herself becoming more of herself each day.

Philippus, her trainer, disliked everyone but seemed to dislike Nia the least, was always impressed with her progress, and even found the times when Nia had broken something or caused a wave bigger than planned, exciting. She was harder on Nia every day but Nia seemed to perform better under pressure. She was learning to control her powers and she was learning more about her species in the library each day, she felt confident in all her powers except for one; her dream interpretation.

Her dreams were becoming more frequent and alarming to her because she couldn’t understand them. She’d once awoken in a scream in the library and Kara had to hold her for quite a while before she stopped crying. She had dreamt about Sam dying. It terrified her, but she still hadn’t said anything about what she had dreamt about. She’d been studying dream interpretation as much as she could. She wanted to know what her dreams meant. She hated going to bed, she was afraid to fall asleep, and although her dreams still found her in the middle of the day, she could try not to sleep at night for as long as she could.

Usually, after dinner, everyone went to sleep immediately because of how tired they were, but Nia had realized it was not a rule. They could go out and explore as much as they wanted.

Tonight, Nia found herself wandering out of the palace and onto the dimly lit streets of the island. She walked alone in silence for a while until she heard the distant sound of voices. She walked toward it, she saw lights in the distance, torches, but they seemed to be traveling away from her, along with the voices. She wondered where they were going. She followed them at a distance. Slow enough that no one would notice her presence. The next corner she turned, she walked right into a person. She backed away slowly.

“I am sorry, I didn’t see you there.” She was now in the village among the homes of many of the Amazons. She felt as though she were invading their privacy.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Came a familiar voice. Nia focused on her face and realized she had just walked into Helena, the only other human on the island besides her friends. She was someone Lena had known as a child but had disappeared the day her family was murdered. Lena had been spending a lot of time with her of late.

“Er, I am not sure…” Nia admitted as she watched the group she had been following disappear into the mountains.

“Why are you not asleep? Philippus does not enjoy having tired students.”

“It’s okay, I am an alien. I have enhanced durability.”

Helena laughed loudly. “You should see how scared you look! But seriously, that is pretty cool!”

Nia shrugged and looked at her feet awkwardly.

Suddenly, Helena slapped Nia’s back encouragingly and started to walk, motioning for Nia to follow her.

“You were following some of my sisters who are attending an astronomy session. I was just heading there too, we can go together.”

“Astronomy?” Nia asked.

She felt uncomfortable meeting Helena in this setting, she usually wanted to be alone on her night walks but they soon drifted into an animated conversation as they made their way up a mountain.

Nia felt uneasy, Kara didn’t seem to like Helena very much and Nia assumed it was because of her friendliness toward Lena, usually, anyone who tried to get close to Lena had intentions of hurting her. Nia knew that they had been friends from a young age but for some reason, she felt protective over Lena as well.

Still, she tried to ignore her feelings and get to know her. After all, she knew better than most what it was like to be judged before being given a chance. Helena was unlike many of the Amazon on the island, and it wasn’t because she was human. She had a rebellious streak to her that one noticed just by talking to her. She did not like to follow rules and this became even more apparent when they arrived at the Astronomy session.

A beautiful dark-skinned woman approached them.

“I appreciate you bringing our young guest along, Helena, although this is no excuse for interrupting a session. This is the third one this week.”

“My word, calm down,” Helena said aggressively. She then disappeared behind the woman who Nia forced her attention back to. She felt embarrassed for being late, even though she hadn’t intended on coming at all.

“My name is Julia,” The Amazon said.

Nia slowly took her hand and shook it firmly. “Nia Nal.”

Julia smiled. “Soon we will come to know each other very well, Nia Nal. As well as the stars.”

“The stars?” Nia asked.

“I am Themyscira’s astronomy teacher. Soon I will be teaching classes to you and your friends. I am teaching one right now. Please, join us. Find a place to lay down as we discuss tonight’s sky.”

Nia shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

“I promise I will not disappoint.”

She did not. Nia figured Julia was teaching an advanced class as she did not understand most of what she spoke about as she lay on the ground with a handful of other Amazons, staring into the beautifully lit sky. The things she did understand, however, seemed to blow her mind. As she opened her mind to what Julia was teaching, she couldn’t help but notice how small and insignificant she was compared to how large she felt. To the world, she may not be much, but to herself, she was a lot. It had taken her a long time to love herself, but she did. She was proud of herself. She didn’t mind being small to everyone else and the universe as long as she could play her part in making the world a better place. She had been gifted these powers and she had fought with herself for having them but after arriving on the island and putting them to work, she began to see the possibilities it created. She could become a hero, she could help people. She just needed to master her abilities, which included her dream interpretation.

“What are you thinking?” Helena, who lay beside her, asked.

The sudden voice startled Nia slightly then she looked back at the stars and pondered the question.

“Come on, you’re not actually listening, are you?”

“A bit,” Nia whispered, then, “The sky is so large, I feel-“

“The sky, maybe. The island, not so much.”

Nia looked at Helena who was not watching the stars, but the dark shadow of the ocean in the distance. “What do you mean?”

“I hate these stupid classes, they make it as if we live in such a large world with all these opportunities, but we are all just stuck here on this tiny island, with nothing meaningful to do here.”

“I think there is a lot of meaning for the Amazon here.”

“The Amazon maybe, they’re so complacent,” Helena scoffed.

“This is their home,” Nia defended.

“Yeah,” Helena said, more quietly. “It is not mine. I want to leave this place, I have a purpose in Man’s world. I don’t here.”

“Why don’t you just go back?” Nia asked.

“I have, a few times actually. But Diana insists on easing me into it.”

“Be quiet!” Someone hissed near them. Nia knew they weren’t supposed to be talking.

“It is probably for the best,” Nia whispered, hoping to end the conversation without being rude.

After a moment of silence Helena whispered quieter this time, Nia wasn’t sure if she was speaking to her. “No one understands.”

When Nia awoke the next morning, her neck hurt. She reached up to massage it and felt a texture, unlike her bedsheets. She opened her eyes in alarm and looked around her. She was laying on the beach. She sat up and felt the tingle of sand rushing off her body and the uncomfortable feeling of it sticking to her warm skin. She looked ahead. Her feet were mere inches away from the grasp of the incoming waves. She remembered leaving Julia’s class once it was over and deciding to do some more exploring before she returned to her bed for some much needed and much-dreaded sleep. She must have fallen asleep on her walk back. Suddenly, a feeling of dread settled over her body as she remembered her dream. Her pulse quickened.

She got up and ran back to the palace as fast she could, while grains of sand fell from her body and long dark hair. She entered the common room just as Maggie and Alex were exiting it.

“Where are Sam and Ruby?” She asked earnestly.

Alex’s eyes grew wide as she saw the panic on Nia’s face. “They’re in Ruby’s room. What happened?”

Nia pushed passed them and ran to the room Alex spoke of. Sam had just placed Ruby on the ground as Nia entered. Nia ran into her arms and hugged her tight. Then she knelt and hugged Ruby. “Thank god you are okay!”

“Why wouldn’t we be?” Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.

Alex, Maggie, Kara, and Lena had now entered the room too, curious about Nia’s panicked search.

Nia didn’t speak, she just held Ruby close and breathed in the smell of her clean baby head, trying to wish the memories of her dream away, but they seemed to cloud over her thoughts.

Nia was on the beach she had woken up on, the sky was black and so was the sand and the waves. A mist settled around her. It was a mist that seemed to have a certain energy about it, one that seemed to want to drain Nia of her happiness. She wandered through the thick mist, trying to see. She heard a child’s cry in the distance, she knew it was Ruby. She grew more panicked as she searched for the source of the cry. As she searched for Ruby. Finally, she found her. She could see her in the distance. Tears streamed down the child’s face. Nia felt her heartbreak in two. It was not a cry out of tiredness or hunger. It was a painful cry. It was a cry no should ever have to cry. No child should ever have to experience the pain behind it. She approached Ruby and the screaming became louder. Nia could see the child now. In pain, terrified. “Where is your mom?” Nia asked. Ruby cried. Nia could see her clearly but Sam was nowhere to be seen. She felt that Sam needed to be there for her child. She couldn’t find Sam. She reached Ruby and stretched out her hand to the child. Ruby reached for it and suddenly the mist returned. Nia couldn’t find her hand. The cry intensified but instead of coming from one place, it came from every direction. So loud Nia felt as though she would shatter.


	13. All Of Me

** 12: All of Me **

Menalippe had forced them to work hard that week. Maggie wondered if she forgot that they weren’t Amazons and did not have the strength and durability that Amazons typically had. Her body hurt in more places than she could count. All she wanted to do was go back to sleep, and she could. Today was one of those days where they had a half-day off. She could do anything she wanted. She could sleep but it just wasn’t possible. Lena had told her about a beautiful meadow she had visited with Diana and she planned to take Alex there today. That is if she could get out of bed. She and Alex had spent the last three half days with the rest of the group but today had to be different. She missed her girlfriend. She was with her every day in training but they never seemed to be alone. They both struggled to keep their eyes open when they returned in the evenings and hadn’t had a personal conversation in a very long time. She couldn’t wait. Eventually, she pulled herself out of bed and got dressed in her armor which she’d hated at first but had grown on her, and a black cloak. She left her room and found Kara and Lena in the common room in deep conversation. She wished she had superhuman durability. They didn’t even have dark rings under their eyes. It was unfair. She asked Kara to wake Alex up and tell her to meet her in the stables. Then she packed a picnic breakfast and left.

It wasn’t long before Alex found her in the stables, looking half asleep. “Good morning, sleepyhead.”

Alex rolled her eyes. “What is this?”

Maggie gave her the reins of a white stallion and smiled. “Get on, we’re going for a ride. It’s not a motorcycle but he will have to do.”

“It better be worth it, my thighs still hurt like a bitch,” was Alex’s snarky response as she jumped onto the horse. They had already had a lot of training with the creatures, and while Maggie didn’t mind it, Alex could only think about how much she missed Maggie’s bike. Unfortunately, the island functioned well without them, but some of the tricks they learned with the horses could quickly be adapted to motorcycle riding when they finally went home.

“Any time alone with me is worth it,” Maggie teased.

“You’re not wrong…”

Maggie winked and climbed onto her horse. “Follow me and keep your eyes open, there is a lot of beauty around us.”

Maggie took off out of the stables at a speed and Alex followed her closely. She’d never been to the place Lena had told her about but she’d been given directions. She knew that there was a 50% chance that they would find what they were looking for. The route they used took them to the beach they had all visited their very first day, but instead of staying in one place, their horses galloped along, kicking sand up as they went. After what felt like a full semi-circle around the island Maggie saw the tree Lena had described and turned onto a forest path. They slowed down and now that Alex was more awake, they had a conversation. Alex seemed shocked when Maggie pointed out that they were on a date, in her sleepiness she hadn’t realized what was happening, this was enough for Maggie to playfully mock her. When the trail finally came to an end, they had to cross a lake and a few more trees before they found themselves in a meadow. Flowers sprung up around them in all sorts of colors. Maggie slid off her horse and helped Alex off hers. She caught her in her arms and lowered her softly the ground. Alex smiled when Maggie did not let go. She leaned in and kissed Maggie deeply. Maggie felt butterflies in her stomach. She wasn’t sure of the last time they were able to kiss each other romantically. Usually, it was just a quick peck before bed. She felt all her stress melt away as she held her girlfriend and kissed her.

Eventually, they broke the kiss and prepared for their picnic. Maggie lay a large picnic blanket down on an even piece of grass near the center of the meadow. Alex carried the basket of food, sneaking a hand in and grabbing a few grapes as she walked. They sat on the picnic blanket and stared at one another. It was so quiet, except for the sound of birds chirping, horses sighing, and branches swaying in the wind. They hadn’t been completely alone together for a long time. They were lucky enough to have the walk to their training together each morning but Sam had now begun to join them and besides, they already made so many amazon friends on their walk that they were constantly in conversation with people other than each other.

“I missed you,” Alex said. She lay down on her back and smiled sweetly up at her girlfriend.

Maggie smiled. “I missed you too.”

She too lay down. She rested her head on Alex’s shoulder, who then tilted her head and kissed Maggie on the forehead. They lay like that for quite some time. The sun shining down on their skin, the smell of grass and flowers, the feeling of each other’s soft skin beneath their wandering fingertips. It was a comfortable silence. Maggie felt it was all she needed. To be close to Alex again. Maggie soon heard Alex’s stomach grumbling and set out their food. Their dates were usually wild, active, and daring adventures, but on the island that became their lifestyle. Now their dates needed to cover what their everyday couldn’t. Intimacy.

If she hadn’t dreamt about becoming a cop from her earliest childhood days, she would want to stay on the island forever. To live amongst the Amazons. Themyscira was called Paradise Island and it lived up to its name. Anyone could find happiness here, not just in the beauty and in the people, but its safety and freedom. She had been kicked out of her home over a year ago. Her parents hate had wounded her. She found safety and freedom in her aunt’s overenthusiasm, in Eliza’s kindness, in the Danvers home, and Alex’s warm embrace. It took her a long time to find it, a very dark and lonely time but eventually, she did. She found freedom there but soon enough she had to leave those safe havens and venture into the world again. Here, on Paradise Island, she felt freedom at every corner. In training, she was doing something she loved, pushing her limits for the better, everywhere she went she met Amazon who loved her before she opened her mouth, who accepted her without knowing her and who seemed to understand her story without hearing it. She was surrounded by friends who loved her. Most of all, she had Alex by her side. In Alex, she felt the most safe and free. Alex knew everything about her. From that day they had met each other in the principal’s office, there had been a connection. The love she felt for Alex was so large she couldn’t understand how her emotions were capable of capturing its capacity. When she met Alex, they were both troubled. In each other they found peace, with each other, they found the strength to become better. Maggie’s wounds left by her uncaring family had healed, leaving scars. Visible, yet painless. After her parents happily handed Maggie over to Lillian Luthor, her wounds had deepened. Seeing her mother’s eyes which had once been warm and comforting, staring at her with cold disgust had ripped Maggie to pieces. It was the hardest thing Maggie had ever experienced, but it gave her the closure she needed to say goodbye to that heartbreak. The two months following had been when she had really fallen in love with Alex. She always knew, but after they had rescued Lena, she fell quicker. Alex gave her the perfect amount of space and intimacy she needed to overcome her demons. For her wound to heal. They had in time and she felt stronger because of it. Her relationship with Alex was stronger because of it. She knew she would not be able to stay on the island and indulge herself in its freedom, but she would always have Alex. Even the darkest of days could not be dark enough to hurt her as long as she had Alex by her side.

She thought about all of this as they talked and laughed and ate their food. When they were both full, they packed their leftovers into the basket. With the blanket now cleared Maggie lay Alex down and climbed on top of her. She kissed her passionately.

“What did I do to deserve this?” Alex asked between kisses.

Maggie ignored her and kissed her again. Soon she moved lower and kissed Alex’s neck. She heard her girlfriend moan softly. She traced kisses back upward and whispered in Alex’s ear, “I am ready, Alex. I want you to have all of me.”


End file.
